By Kelley Weiss
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kcur/local-kcur-574361.mp3
Kansas City, MO – Irene Cumming will step down as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the University of Kansas Hospital in June. KCUR's Kelley Weiss has more.
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Irene Cumming led the University of Kansas Hospital as president and CEO for 11-years. She is leaving to become president and CEO of a bigger national academic institution that includes more than 100 hospitals - the University HealthSystem Consortium. Hospital spokesperson, Dennis McCullogh, says Cumming transformed a struggling state hospital.
Dennis McCulloch: "She took a hospital that was dying and brought it back to life. She turned everything around financially and patient volume wise."
McCullogh says Cumming increased KU hospital's patient visits, expanded cancer and heart care and generated profit for the University. Before Cumming leaves her post she hopes to develop a basic outline to move forward a bitter negotiation over the affiliation of KU Medical Center with Saint Luke's Hospital, one of KU Hospital's biggest competitors.
Funding for health care coverage on KCUR has been provided by the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City.
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