Charles A. Holland, Jr., Named President/CEO of St. Bernard Hospital

St. Bernard Hospital
Published: August 16, 2012

Chicago, IL (August, 2012) – Charles A. Holland, Jr., vice president for Planning and Development at St. Bernard Hospital and executive director of the hospital’s non-profit Housing Development Corporation, has been named president and chief executive officer. Gregory Whitehead, chairman of St. Bernard’s Board of Trustees, made the announcement to the hospital community recently in a written statement. Mr. Holland’s tenure will begin in January 2013 following a transitional phase.

Since joining the senior leadership team of St. Bernard in 1998, Mr. Holland, 57,has been instrumental in helping to build the stature of the hospital as an institutional community development leader. He led the work on Bernard Place, the Englewood hospital’s affordable housing project, which won the prestigious Richard H. Driehaus Award for Outstanding Nonprofit Neighborhood Real Estate Project in 2004. And guided the development of pivotal programs for which he raised more than $4 million, namely, the Pediatric Mobile Health Unit and The Dental Center. As the leader of St. Bernard’s strategic planning efforts, Mr. Holland is the point person for the development of the hospital’s ambitious Facility Master Plan.

Mr. Holland succeeds Sister Elizabeth Van Straten, a member of the religious congregation of women known as the Religious Hospitallers of Saint Joseph (R.H.S.J.), who is retiring after 34 years of service. Sister Elizabeth, a graduate of DePaul University, joined the hospital in 1978 and became its president and CEO in 1992. Through her leadership, the hospital is financially strong and well positioned for its next phase.

“Sister Elizabeth has helped bring about powerful change that responded to the health and social needs of this community, whether it was physical or mental healthcare or a concern for safe affordable housing for the community,” said ChairmanWhitehead.

“For the past 34 years, St. Bernard Hospital has been my home,” said Sister Elizabeth. “I’ve always looked upon my tenure here as a privilege to have guided and guarded the hospital’s mission as a caring, healing institution,” she added. “I leave here with the confidence that in Chuck Holland, we have selected a leader and a visionary to continue our mission.”

Prior to joining St. Bernard, Mr. Holland worked in a variety of managerial capacities, with expertise in strategic planning, communications, fundraising and business. He brings experience from the non-profit and for-profit sectors including the Archdiocese of Chicago (under Joseph Cardinal Bernardin), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, The Field Museum, Montgomery Ward & Co. and the Montgomery Ward Foundation, and a Boston health planning council.

“My career path has always been set by how I am called to service,” said Mr. Holland. “Working with the professional staff of St. Bernard and with many members of the Englewood community has afforded me the opportunity to broaden my horizons. I am excited to expand my work meeting the healthcare and development needs of the community.”

Speaking on behalf of the St. Bernard Hospital Board of Trustees, Chairman Whitehead stated, “Since Chuck Holland’s arrival at St. Bernard, he has displayed leadership and accountability in the breadth and depth of the work he has provided to the hospital and the Englewood community. We are excited about working with him in his role as president/CEO as the hospital continues in its faith-based mission of community service.”

Mr. Holland earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology and social work from the University of Akron, and Master of Arts degrees in social service administration from the University of Chicago and in health law from Loyola University – Chicago. In 2011 he completed the Ministerial Leadership Preparation Program of the Francis Cardinal George Center for Ministerial Development, a program designed to prepare lay leaders to assume leadership of Catholic healthcare organizations.

About St. Bernard Hospital
St. Bernard Hospital was ranked among the top 5% in the nation for emergency medicine, according to the 2011 HealthGrades^® survey of U.S. hospitals. For 2012, St. Bernard achieved five-star quality ratings from HealthGrades for Heart Failure Treatment and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Founded in 1904 by the Religious Hospitallers of Saint Joseph (RHSJ), St. Bernard continues its mission to care for the sick and promote the health of the residents in the community while witnessing the Christian values of respect, dignity, caring and compassion for all persons. The RHSJ is one of four religious congregations of sisters who in 2001 came together to form Catholic Health International, which sponsors 38 facilities in Canada and the United States.

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