Cucci appointed as new head of Weiss Memorial

Edward Cucci has been appointed President and Chief Operating Officer of Louis A. Weiss Memorial Hospital, the University of Chicago Hospitals’ North-Side facility, effective Nov. 1. Cucci also will serve as a Vice President of the University of Chicago Hospitals and Health System.

Cucci comes to the University of Chicago Hospitals from Swedish Covenant Hospital, where he has served as president and chief executive officer since 1990. During his nine-year tenure at Swedish Covenant, Cucci was able to improve operational and financial performance, develop new facilities and expand clinical programs.

“We are excited to have found Mr. Cucci, who combines strong leadership skills with extensive experience in hospital administration and familiarity with the competitive North-Side health care marketplace,” said Michael Rosenberg, Chairman of the Board of Governors at Weiss. “We expect him to become an imaginative and influential leader for Weiss and to continue its tradition of providing superb and innovative care to a wide range of patients.”

Cucci will succeed Greg Cierlik, who has served as President of Weiss Hospital since 1995. Cierlik announced his intention to step down before the end of 1999 last spring. The search for his replacement began this summer.

“Edward Cucci has demonstrated the ability to run hospitals efficiently, to coordinate the needs and wishes of both doctors and hospital staff, and to guide the development and expansion of new clinical programs,” said Ralph Muller, President of the University of Chicago Hospitals and Health System. “We look forward to making the best use of his extensive health care experience and his thoughtful and detail-oriented leadership style.”

Cucci, 54, of Lincolnshire, Ill., has more than 25 years of experience in hospital administration. He received his undergraduate degree from North Park College in 1968, completed a master’s degree in teaching from Northeastern Illinois University in 1971 while working at Augustana Hospital in Chicago and Evanston Hospital in Evanston, Ill., and then earned a master’s degree in health care and hospital administration from the University of Minnesota in 1974.

He served as vice president and then senior vice president of Methodist Hospital in Madison, Wis., from 1974 to 1983. He was appointed executive vice president of St. John’s Medical Center in Anderson, Ind., in 1983 and became its president and chief operating officer in 1985. In 1986, he was named executive vice president of Swedish Covenant Hospital in Chicago and became its president and chief executive officer in 1990.

Weiss Memorial Hospital opened in 1953 to serve the medical needs of Chicago’s North Side.