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July 22, 2010
Hospital News
Chris Rakunas has been named Chief Executive Officer of Lehigh Regional Medical Center, an 88-bed facility located in Lehigh Acres, FL.
Rakunas moves up from chief operating officer, succeeding José Morillo, who was the head of the hospital for the past 3 years and relocated to Punta Gorda to be the head of Charlotte Regional Medical Center.
Rakunas says he looks forward to the new position and sees good things ahead for Lehigh Regional Medical Center.
Chris joined Health Management in 2007 as the Assistant Administrator at Physicians Regional Healthcare System in Naples, FL. Before joining the company, he worked for Johnson & Johnson in global operations and strategic marketing. He received a Bachelor’s of Science in Molecular and Cell Biology from University of California at Berkeley and an MBA from University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business.
During his two years as COO at Lehigh Regional Medical Center, Rakunas was responsible for upgrading the CT and MRI, installing the PACS (Picture Archiving Computer System), building out the Joint Academy for elective orthopedic total joint replacements, constructing the current Wound Care Institute space, and installing and starting the Hyperbaric Oxygen Chambers in the hospital.
He is very active in the community and serves as a board member of Lehigh Community Services. He is also a board member of the Kiwanis Club of Lehigh Acres as well as a member of the Knights of Columbus in Lehigh Acres.
“Chris has been instrumental in providing interim leadership during this transition period. His focus has been, and will continue to be, on driving quality through medical and hospital staff involvement which is a key to success for the future”, said Josh Putter, President of Division 5, Health Management Associates.
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