Cooper University Hospital announces the appointment of Adrienne Kirby, PhD, FACHE, as Chief Operating Officer beginning Monday, January 30, 2012. Kirby will be responsible for the administration and management of The Cooper Health System’s health care delivery operations, including the hospital and physician organization. She will also support the Board and the President/CEO in establishing strategic direction for the organization and achieving its financial goals.
“Dr. Kirby’s proven track record of implementing processes that drive organization performance, productivity and growth will make her a valuable member of Cooper’s leadership team,” said John P. Sheridan, Jr., President and CEO at Cooper. “Her ability to build strong relationships with both academic and community based physician partners and professional colleagues will be extremely important as Cooper continues its expansion of programs and services throughout the region.”
Kirby joins Cooper with over 30 years of healthcare management experience, much of it at hospitals in the Delaware Valley. Most recently, Kirby served as President of Franklin Square Hospital Center, a 380-bed community teaching hospital and the third largest hospital in Maryland. Under her leadership, the hospital opened a new 290-bed patient care tower in November 2010; developed and implemented a program for organizational transformation aimed at achieving a Culture of Service and improving patient and physician satisfaction scores. The hospital received several Healthgrades Awards for achieving clinical outcomes in the top five percentile nationally.
Prior to her position at Franklin Square, Kirby served in various leadership roles at Virtua Health, including Chief Operating Officer of Ambulatory Services and Programs of Excellence and Chief Operating Officer of Virtua Hospital Voorhees. She spent more than ten years building a foundation for growth and development of services and facilities and achieving improved quality, patient satisfaction and financial results. Kirby’s earlier career highlights include serving as Vice President of Operations at Christiana Care Health System in Delaware, and leadership positions at University of Pennsylvania Medical Center and Hahnemann University Hospital.
Kirby earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Rutgers University and her Master’s and Doctoral degrees from the University of Pennsylvania. She is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and Certified Healthcare Executive of the American College of Healthcare Executives.
“We found a leader who has the proven ability to develop comprehensive programs and strategies to achieve improved efficiencies,” said George E. Norcross, III, Chairman of the Board at Cooper. “She has a thorough understanding of the complexities of health care and will bring new insight to Cooper. She knows South Jersey; in fact, she was born at Cooper and grew up in Camden County.”
“Dr. Kirby joins Cooper at a time of great progress as we will open Cooper Medical School of Rowan University this summer, break ground on our cancer center this year, and celebrate our 125 Anniversary in this great City of Camden,” said Mr. Sheridan. “We look forward to her guidance and leadership in the years ahead.”