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FARMINGTON — Timothy A. Churchill, a veteran hospital executive who has led Western Maine Health and Stephens Memorial Hospital for more than two decades, has announced his retirement effective Jan. 1, 2020.
With the announcement, Churchill, who also serves as president of Franklin Community Health Network in Farmington, draws to a close a successful career in health care leadership spanning four decades, the health system said in a news release.
Churchill, who has been the leader of Western Maine Health in Norway, for 23 years, was named interim leader of Franklin Community Health Network in 2016. In February of 2018, the FCHN board made Churchill its president on a permanent basis, sharing him with Western Maine.
“I am going to miss this incredible team here at Western Maine Health,” said Churchill. “They, along with their colleagues at FCHN, put their patients and their communities first, and it really shows. I’ve been very fortunate.”
Before stepping in as FCHN’s leader in 2016, Churchill was the president of Western Maine Health and its flagship, Stephens Memorial Hospital, since 1996. Before that, he held various executive posts in the health care industry dating back to the 1980s. His first leadership role was as CEO of St. Joseph’s Hospital in Philadelphia in the early 1990s. He has also served as president of the Osteopathic Medical Center of Philadelphia and president of Windber Medical Center in Windber, Penn. Born in Lewiston and raised in Waterville, he holds an MBA from the University of Maine and a bachelor’s degree from King’s College in Pennsylvania.
“As a leader, Tim has set the standard across our system,” said Rich Petersen, president of MaineHealth. “This is especially true when it comes to attracting and retaining top-notch physicians and other team members. People really enjoy working for the organizations he leads.”
Morton said that his board, in consultation with leadership at MaineHealth, has decided to replace Churchill with a president who will oversee just WMH. He said this does not diminish the value of working cooperatively with FCHN and other MaineHealth organizations, but overseeing both organizations is a job few executives could be expected to tackle.
“There is a lot to be gained from working cooperatively with a regional partner like FCHN, and that work should continue,” said Morton. “But straddling Norway and Farmington as a leader is challenging from a geographical perspective, and we think it makes sense for Tim’s replacements to put a focus on just one location.”
Morton said his board will form a search committee by April 30, and that they hope to hire a new president by the end of the calendar year.
