Larry P. Schumacher, an inspirational leader for 25 years in Catholic health care, was today named the Chief Operating Officer of Hospital Sisters Health System. HSHS is a Roman Catholic health ministry which sponsors 13 hospitals in Illinois and Wisconsin, with $1.5 billion in revenue and more than 14,900 staff.

Schumacher, 48, will join HSHS on November 26, 2007. He currently serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Via Christi Wichita Health Network, a four hospital system with $800 million in revenues and a staff of 5,400 based in Kansas.

“Larry Schumacher brings to our System the commitment to our mission, leadership skills and extensive medical knowledge to help us in the communities where we serve our patients,” said Stephanie S. McCutcheon, President and CEO of the Hospital Sisters Health System. “Larry will be instrumental in helping support our local system CEO’s, our new local system Boards of Directors and in achieving strong
partnerships with physicians. He will also focus on our three main goals of fulfilling our mission, integrated patient diagnosis and treatment; meeting the highest standards of quality and service; and creating the best environment for physicians and others to practice medicine.”

As COO, Schumacher will also be accountable for patient services, quality metrics, physician relationships, information technology and capital construction needs.

“The Hospital Sisters Health System is guided by the Principles set forth by the Hospital Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis to ensure the continuation of a 130 year legacy to care for the needy, sick and poor. I look forward joining the HSHS team where there will be opportunities to share my strong clinical background,” Schumacher said.

McCutcheon said HSHS created the position of chief operating officer to deepen local system management and to coordinate operational support as part of the evolution of the leadership model. “Larry started his career as a bedside care giver and understands how every
administrative decision impacts patients and families,” McCutcheon said.

Schumacher has served as the President and CEO of the Via Christi Wichita Health Network since 2005. His activities in the Wichita community include membership on the Board of Directors of Newman University, Chair of the United Way campaign and a task force designed to create the future vision of healthcare for the region. In addition, Larry serves as president, CEO and Chairman of the Board for the Wichita Center for Graduate Medical Education (WCGME),
which is a not-for-profit consortium consisting of the University of Kansas School of Medicine- Wichita, Via Christi Regional Medical Center and HCA Wesley Medical Center. It is responsible for employing the 260 residents in the 13 residency programs it administers.

Between 1988 and 2005, Schumacher served in various positions for the Mercy Health Network of Iowa, and was directly involved in the development of a heart hospital and the creation of extensive physician partnerships.

From 1984 to 1988, he was director of critical care/medical nursing for the Research Medical Center in Kansas City, Missouri.

Schumacher began his career in healthcare in 1975 as an orderly and control clerk at Lester E. Cox Medical Center in Springfield, Missouri. After graduating from nursing school, he served at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, with the Ozark Area Community Action Corporation Home Health Care Services and St. John’s Regional Health Center, both in Springfield, Missouri and at the Indiana University Hospitals/Riley Hospital for Children School of Nursing.

Schumacher is a graduate of the Burge School of Nursing in Springfield, Missouri; holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Missouri State University, a Master of Science in Nursing from Indiana University and an honorary Doctor of Science from Mercy College of Health Sciences of Des Moines, Iowa. He is a doctoral candidate in nursing administration at the University of Iowa College of Nursing.
A native of Waseca, Minnesota, Schumacher and his wife Casey have four sons. Casey Schumacher also is a nurse educator and a doctoral candidate.

The Hospital Sisters Health System is a Roman Catholic healthcare mission founded to continue the healing ministry of Jesus Christ. Sponsored by the Hospital Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis, HSHS is dedicated to serving the poor, the sick and the needy at each of its 12 local systems in Illinois and Wisconsin. The Hospital Sisters Health System provides state-ofthe-art medical care framed in traditional values taught by St. Francis and St. Clare of Assisi.

The HSHS hospitals in Wisconsin are located in Chippewa Falls, Eau Claire and Sheboygan, with two in Green Bay. In Illinois, the hospitals are located in Belleville, Breese, Decatur, Effingham, Highland, Litchfield, Springfield and Streator.