Kona Community Hospital CEO Announces Retirement

The CEO of the West Hawai‘i Region of the Hawai‘i Health Systems Corporation (HHSC), Jay Kreuzer announces retirement. PC: Courtesy photo

Jay Kreuzer, the CEO of the West Hawai‘i Region of the Hawai‘i Health Systems Corporation (HHSC), will step down effective year’s end, the organization announced this week (March 39, 2019).

The West Hawai‘i Region Board of Directors has hired executive search firm Quick Leonard Kieffer to conduct a leadership search for the Region’s top position.

Kreuzer joined the West Hawai‘i Region (WHR) and Kona Community Hospital (KCH) in March 2011 as regional chief executive officer.

A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Kreuzer came to West Hawai‘i from Chicago where he held the position of executive vice president of Resurrection Health Care, a not-for-profit health system.

Concurrently, he was the CEO for West Suburban Medical Center. He also served as president of St. Francis Hospital and Health System, which ranked in the top 100 hospitals nationally. He also served as the president of Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in rural Southern Illinois.

“Jay’s leadership and guidance have been invaluable,” board chair, Frank Sayre, DDS, said in prepared remarks. “His healthcare knowledge and experience have elevated the Region’s services and delivery of care to our community. I speak for the entire Board of Directors when I say that we appreciate his contributions to Kona Community Hospital and the West Hawai‘i Region.”

Kreuzer’s retirement will cap an 8-year tenure leading the strategic direction of Kona Community Hospital and the West Hawai‘i Region. During this time, he has been instrumental in bringing financial stability and strategic growth to the West Hawai‘i Region.

Kreuzer led the KCH management team’s nearly $40 million in capital investment projects. Highlights of these investments include:

• Implementation of financial and operational improvement initiatives at KCH resulting in the hospital’s sustained financial stability.
• Launched the first Electronic Medical Record system within HHSC.
• Acquired 98% ownership of the Kona Ambulatory Surgery Center.
• Development of partnership with Ali‘i Health Center to attract physicians and
  specialists to West Hawai‘i.
• Hospital-wide technology improvements including the installation of state of the art equipment: MRI, Wifi telemetry system, nuclear medicine camera and 128-slice CT scan, as well as a new linear accelerator.

In addition, from 2015 to present, hospital-wide renovations and expansions have modernized and updated various departments, infrastructure, parking and lighting.

“Although I’ll miss the fulfillment of this position, I’m confident with the leadership team at Kona Community Hospital and the West Hawai‘i Region. Their stewardship will continue to guide the future of the organization,” Kreuzer said.