U. Health System names Muller new CEO

Ralph Muller has been named Chief Executive Officer of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, officials announced yesterday.

Muller, who will be the fourth person to serve as CEO of the Health System since 2000, will come to Penn after serving as president and chief executive officer at the University of Chicago Hospitals and Health System.

Muller's appointment comes following the conclusion of a six-month national search to replace the current CEO, Robert Martin, who in October announced that he would step down from the position this June.

"I am absolutely delighted to have Ralph join us," said Health System Vice President and Dean of the School of Medicine Arthur Rubenstein. "He did a very good job in a difficult place like Chicago, and I am very confident that he will be successful here, too."

Muller echoed similar enthusiasm.

"I'm looking forward to working in one of the nation's most respected academic health systems, with an excellent medical school and great university," Muller said. "Penn is a vibrant campus, with active faculty, students and staff."

Muller will take the helm of UPHS beginning July 1. The $1.7 billion non-profit includes four local hospitals -- the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Hospital, University of Pennsylvania Medical Center-Presbyterian and Phoenixville Hospital.

Muller will lead the financially improving health system, which expects to post a positive operating margin for the third consecutive year as of this June. This follows a period of financial trouble that lead to approximately $300 million in debt in the late 1990s, according to chief public affairs officer at UPHS. Rebecca Harmon.

The financial debacle was one of the reasons why there has been a high CEO turnover rate in the past few years.

Robert Martin, the current CEO, was appointed in July 2000 following the sudden resignation of Peter Traber, who served as the chief executive for about six months. Traber was preceded by William Kelley, who was dismissed by University President Judith Rodin in February 2000 during the Health System's financial crisis.

One of Muller's priorities will be continuing to work with Rubenstein and the University in creating and implementing the new five-year Strategic Plan.

This plan, scheduled to be completed in May or June by Penn Medicine -- the governing board of the UPHS -- is a five-pillared plan through which administrators hope to improve specific clinical departments as well as the quality of patient care and safety.

"Part of my effort will [be to] make Penn programs, including the heart, cancer, and women's care program, more well-known," Muller said. "My goal is to keep growing these programs to reach patients in the Mid-Atlantic and Eastern regions."

Seeing that he has such plans in mind, current Health System administrators and faculty members have expressed their support for Muller's appointment.

"The faculty are favorably impressed with his background because he clearly understands the multiple and varied environmental stresses of a major academic medical center located in a major urban market," Harmon said.

"There's a tremendous sense of positive energy and forward-thinking expectations associated with Mr. Muller's leadership," she added.

"He is a very strategic thinker, very good at operations and very good at implementing programs," Rubenstein said.

As CEO, Muller's responsibilities will include leading the operating and capital budget process for the Health System, ensuring that the clinical services are of the highest quality, working with clinical chairs in implementing the Strategic Plan and representing the Health System and its interests both locally and nationally, in addition to other daily efforts.

Muller is a nationally recognized figure in the medical administration field. He served in various positions at the University of Chicago's Hospitals, including Director of Budget and Financial Planning and Vice President and Deputy Dean of the Biological Sciences, before being named CEO in 1985.

He is currently on the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, which independently advises the United States Congress on Medicare programs. He also served as the Chairman of the Association of American Medical Colleges.

In addition, he has held executive positions in the Massachusetts state government, as Budget Director and later Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Public Welfare.

Muller said he is looking forward to moving to the Philadelphia area and to working with the Penn Medicine board.

"The constant innovation, training of the next generation and focus on patient care in conjunction with the faculty and staff, will continue to make UPHS robust and vibrant," Muller said, adding that his daughter is a College junior.

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