Baylor Scott & White nabs Northwestern’s Peter McCanna for new president position

In an unusual move, Baylor Scott & White will create a new Office of the President position instead of having James Hinton continue to serve as both president and CEO of the organization.

James Hinton

Hinton, who has served as both president and CEO since he joined the not-for-profit healthcare system in Texas six months ago, has announced he will transition some of his responsibilities to Peter McCanna when he comes on board as president in mid-September.

McCanna is the executive vice president and chief operating officer at the Chicago-based Northwestern Memorial Healthcare. He previously served as chief financial officer at Presbyterian Healthcare Services in New Mexico and chief financial officer at the University of Colorado Hospital in Denver.

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"Pete is a highly respected senior executive with a track record of helping to grow organizations, create and implement successful, long-range strategic plans and lead financial turnarounds," Hinton said in a statement. "He is one of the best and brightest in healthcare."

Peter J. McCanna

During McCanna’s 15-year tenure at Northwestern, the organization's operating revenue grew from $700 million to more than $5 billion, while exceeding patient experience, employee engagement and quality goals, and maintaining an AA+ bond rating. The announcement said he was also instrumental in integrating the faculty physician practice plan of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine with Northwestern Memorial Hospital–Northwestern Medicine's flagship facility.

In an interview with Hospitals & Health Networks, Hinton said he has no concerns about shifting some of his work to McCanna or the title change.  “There's a lot of work to be done here and I think titles are actually more important externally to people than they tend to be internally,” he told the publication. “If you look at a sports team, an orchestra, any aggregation of people focused on a goal, there are people who sit in chairs closest to the conductor, and there are people who sit in spaces farther from the conductor, but the band doesn't produce music without everybody working together.”

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It’s still unclear what responsibilities McCanna will take on when he officially joins the organization. Hinton told H&HN that his main goal was to attract top talent and then figure out the specifics of the role. McCanna said Hinton’s reputation and track record of success will be most valuable to the organization.

As for McCanna, he told D CEO Healthcare that he is excited about the new opportunity to work with an organization that provides value-based care and with Hinton, who he previously worked with at Presbyterian Healthcare Services. “I always hoped when I left 15 years ago, our paths would cross again,” he told the publication.