Immediate (June 18, 2004)

Mike Noble
Fletcher Allen Public Affairs
(802) 847-2886

Fletcher Allen Names Chief Technology Officer

BURLINGTON, VT - Fletcher Allen Health Care has named John K. Evans to the position of senior vice president and chief technology officer.  Evans, who served in the role of interim chief operating officer during the past 16 months, began in this new position June 6.

"The position of senior vice president and chief technology officer will lead our technology efforts throughout the organization across all technology platforms," said Fletcher Allen President and Chief Executive Officer Melinda Estes, M.D.  "The ability to leverage technology for maximum patient, caregiver and organizational benefit has become a key competency for all health care organizations.  With his health care operations experience, broad knowledge base, and leadership abilities, John is well positioned to succeed in this new role."

The new position is broad in scope and replaces the current position of chief information officer.  Evans reports directly to incoming Chief Operating Officer Angeline (Angie) Marano, who began June 7.

In addition to overseeing the Information Services department, Evans also oversees the operations of the Radiology and Cardiology departments. 

During his tenure as interim chief operating officer, Evans oversaw a successful financial recovery program that allowed Fletcher Allen to substantially recover from losses experienced in the first two quarters of fiscal year 2003. The program's combination of expense controls, revenue enhancements, and improvements in patient flow resulted in a positive fourth quarter and substantially reduced financial losses by year's end.

Evans was also instrumental in Fletcher Allen's negotiating a strategic business alliance with the medical systems division of Royal Philips Electronics.  The new agreement is bringing some of the world's latest medical technology to Vermont's academic health center to enhance patient care, education and research, while saving potentially millions of dollars in equipment costs.

About John K. Evans

Evans, 49, a 1977 graduate of the University of Vermont, brings 25 years of health care administration experience to Fletcher Allen having held a series of executive level positions at hospitals in the Connecticut area over a 15-year period, in addition to having spent ten years in health care administration in the U.S. Army medical department.  Evans also possesses a Master of Health Administration from Baylor University.

Evans served as the senior vice president of medical center operations at St. Vincent's Medical Center in Bridgeport, CT, from 1996 to 2001, and as executive vice president/chief operating officer at St. Joseph Medical Center in Stamford, CT, from 1993 to 1996. St. Vincent's is a 410-bed tertiary level acute care teaching hospital of the Ascension Health System. St. Joseph is a 260-bed community teaching hospital that was purchased by St. Vincent's and Stamford Health System as part of a new strategic alliance.  Evans was President/CEO of NovaMed, a for-profit healthcare diversified services company from 1989 to 2003.  Evans also served as vice president of eastern operations for Siemens Medical Solutions, a division of Siemens Health Services, the largest healthcare IT company in the United States, prior to joining Fletcher Allen.

Evans is a fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives and is a founding member of the Healthcare Change Institute, a think tank formed at Harvard University and Brigham and Women's Hospital, dedicated to advancing the knowledge and skills of health care leaders charged with implementing change.

Evans and his wife, Ellen, have a daughter who is a junior at Guilford High School and a son who attends the University of Vermont.

About Fletcher Allen

Fletcher Allen Health Care, in alliance with the University of Vermont College of Medicine, is Vermont's only academic health center and one of 126 in the country.  Founded in 1995, through the merger of Fanny Allen Hospital, Medical Center Hospital of Vermont, and University Health Center, Fletcher Allen Health Care serves one million people in Vermont and northern New York.  The organization provides care at more than 40 sites and 100 outreach clinics in the region.