GREELEY, Colo. (March 25, 2021) – Ronald Andro, a senior health care executive from Pennsylvania, has been named the new chief executive officer to lead Banner Health’s operations in Northern Colorado. Andro, who joins Banner from West Penn Hospital in Pittsburgh, begins work at Banner on April 12.
“Ron is always focused on high performing teams who deliver quality care and how the patient and family are at the core of all we do,” said Margo Karsten, Banner Health Western Region president.
Andro began his career as a nursing assistant during summers in college while studying to be a registered nurse. He has a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Winona University, Winona, Minnesota; a master’s in health systems management from Rush University, Chicago; and a master’s degree in human environmental sciences with a concentration in negotiation, mediation, and conflict resolution from the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
He has worked as surgical services administrator at Rush Presbyterian St. Luke’s Medical Center in Chicago; administrative director at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire; director of perioperative services at Provena St. Joseph Medical Center in Joliet, Illinois; vice president of operations at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in Pittsburgh; senior vice president and chief operating officer at the University of Maryland in Baltimore and Washington Medical Center in Baltimore; and chief operating officer at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh. He has served as President and CEO of West Penn Hospital for the past 5-1/2 years.
In his current role at West Penn, the hospital was awarded the Watson Top 100 Hospital in 2019 and 2020, three-time Magnet designated from the American Nurses Credentialing Center and Leapfrog A designation from the Leapfrog group.
He has been a board chair of the American Heart Association in Pittsburgh; board member of the Pennsylvania Trauma System Foundation Board, board member Boy Scouts of America, Baltimore; and board member of the Western Pennsylvania Healthcare Council. He is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives and has served on various local community boards.
“I am excited to join Banner Health because of Banner’s deep commitment to high quality, compassionate, team-focused health care,” he said. “I look forward to working with everyone at Banner North Colorado to continue to move the organization to the region’s leader in access, compassion, patient experience with continued high-quality patient outcomes.”
Wendy Sparks who became interim CEO in February 2020 will resume her role as chief operating officer for Northern Colorado. Sparks also served as the lead incident commander for the past year during the COVID-19 pandemic response.
Headquartered in Arizona, Banner Health is one of the largest nonprofit health care systems in the country. The system owns and operates 30 acute-care hospitals, Banner Health Network, Banner – University Medicine, academic and employed physician groups, long-term care centers, outpatient surgery centers and an array of other services; including Banner Urgent Care, family clinics, home care and hospice services, pharmacies and a nursing registry. Banner Health is in six states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada, and Wyoming. For more information, visit www.BannerHealth.com.
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