St. David's Medical Center Taps New CEO

AUSTIN, TX — St. David’s Medical Center has selected Todd Steward as its new chief executive officer, officials announced Tuesday.

In the CEO role, Steward will provide executive leadership for St. David’s Medical Center, including the campuses of Heart Hospital of Austin and St. David’s Georgetown Hospital, as well as St. David’s Rehabilitation Hospital. Steward, who served as the CEO of St. David’s South Austin Medical Center for nine years, will assume his new role on April 29, 2019. He replaces Don Wilkerson, who recently retired after a four decade-long career in healthcare, including 20 years with St. David’s HealthCare.

“St. David’s Medical Center has a century-long history of national prominence in high-quality patient care, operational performance and world-class clinical programs, and I am confident that Todd will continue to build on its legacy,” David Huffstutler, president and chief executive officer of St. David’s HealthCare, said. “Todd’s experience leading the operations of a large and complex facility, along with his business development experience and his reputation for creating a positive, values-based culture with physicians, board members and colleagues, make him especially qualified to lead and advance the strategic growth agenda of St. David’s Medical Center.”

Steward has 26 years of experience in acute care inpatient hospital management, healthcare consulting and physician practice management. During his time at St. David’s South Austin Medical Center, he led strategic initiatives to expand the hospital’s clinical capabilities, including establishing the region’s first and only adult blood cancer and bone marrow transplant program and developing a Level II Trauma program. He also led the hospital through a growth and capacity expansion process to accommodate the increasing demand for healthcare services in south Austin, which included more than $160 million in capital investment projects, including two major hospital expansions, developing three freestanding emergency centers and acquiring two ambulatory surgery centers.

Prior to joining St. David’s HealthCare, Steward served as chief executive officer of HealthONE’s North Suburban Medical Center, a 157-bed acute care hospital in Denver, Colorado. Earlier in his career, he served as chief operating officer of Lakeview Regional Medical Center, a 185-bed medical-surgical hospital in Covington, Louisiana.

About St. David’s Medical Center

St. David’s Medical Center, which is part of St. David’s HealthCare, is a full-service medical center offering comprehensive medical care at three locations—St. David’s Medical Center, Heart Hospital of Austin and St. David’s Georgetown Hospital.

Located in Central Austin, St. David’s Medical Center includes a 356-bed acute care hospital and a 64-bed rehabilitation hospital providing comprehensive inpatient and outpatient care. It is home to the internationally renowned Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute and St. David’s Neuroscience & Spine Institute. The hospital provides a complete range of women’s services, including its acclaimed maternity unit, maternal-fetal medicine, a high-risk maternal and neonatal transport team, the region’s largest Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and The Breast Center; complex surgical services; a comprehensive Bariatric Surgery Center; and a 24-hour emergency department. In 2018, St. David’s Medical Center was named among the Top 50 Hospitals in the nation by Healthgrades.