A Smooth Handoff At White Plains Hospital As Longtime CEO Jon B. Schandler Retires; Succeeded By Susan Fox Of Larchmont

05/01/2015

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (May 1, 2015) – White Plains Hospital President Susan Fox is now both the Hospital’s President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective today, announced Laurence Smith, Chairman of the Hospital’s Board of Directors. Fox succeeds Jon B. Schandler, who retired as CEO on April 30, after 38 years of service to the institution.

“Susan has been an exceptional leader at White Plains Hospital and will be an extraordinary CEO,” Smith said. “Since 2010, she has worked closely with Jon to transform White Plains Hospital into the ‘Hospital of the Future,’ with the clinical capabilities, services, and facilities that allow us to manage patient health both inside and outside our walls. Susan has the skills, leadership and vision to lead us to continued success.”

Smith added that Schandler has left an impressive and lasting legacy at the Hospital. “Under Jon’s leadership, a wonderful community hospital has evolved into an exceptional health care institution capable of meeting the community’s needs for complex care, close to home,” Smith said.

“Susan has proven herself to be an outstanding, progressive leader with an uncompromising dedication to excellence in patient care. I applaud her appointment as President and CEO,” said Steven M. Safyer, M.D., President and CEO of Montefiore Health System, of which White Plains Hospital is a member.

Susan Fox: The Right Leader at the Right Time 

Fox began her career as a pediatric intensive care nurse, and went on to distinguish herself in several leadership positions after earning an MBA in Healthcare Administration from Baruch College-Mount Sinai School of Medicine. She first served as Senior Manager of Health Care Consulting at Ernst & Young and then spent 14 years at North Shore-LIJ as Senior Vice President, Physician and Ambulatory Network Services. She joined White Plains Hospital in 2010 as Senior Vice President of Administration and was named President in January, 2013. It was announced last year that she would assume the role of CEO upon Schandler’s retirement, thus ensuring a smooth transition.

“From the moment she joined the Hospital, it became evident that Susan understood how healthcare services were changing, and the unique role that White Plains Hospital played in delivering more advanced care to the region that no other Westchester hospital could,” Schandler explained. “Susan has played an important role in recruiting the best and the brightest physicians to take our clinical services to the next level, and expanding our geography beyond the borders of White Plains into other areas of Westchester.

“But excellent clinical services aren’t enough,” Schandler continued. “She focused everyone’s attention on the patient experience, and got everyone involved in making that experience as good as possible. As a result, our Hospital became one of only 5% of hospitals in the nation to receive the Healthgrades’ 2014 Outstanding Patient Experience Award.”

“Susan is a one-of-a-kind leader,” added Robert Small, M.D., Orthopedic Surgeon and President of the White Plains Hospital Medical Staff. “She has more than demonstrated that she is a highly intelligent, strategic thinker, and few others could match her capabilities and drive.”

Fox said she would ensure that White Plains Hospital continues to deliver excellent patient-centered care to the community. She also will seek ways to leverage the Hospital’s alliance with Montefiore to improve care for patients in White Plains. She faces a busy first year on the job. This fall, the Hospital is opening three new facilities: a new six-story building that will be the center of the Hospital’s expanded and renovated campus; a new cancer center that will nearly double the size of the Hospital’s cancer program; and a 24,000 square-foot multispecialty outpatient medical facility in Armonk that will offer urgent care, primary care, pediatrics, imaging, and a wide range of medical specialties.

“The Hospital’s future is bright, and that is good for White Plains, Westchester County, and the region, as well as our patients, physicians, and staff,” Fox said. “I am so pleased to have an opportunity to continue to move our Hospital forward and keep us focused on what we do best: meeting our patients’ needs and expectations, and providing them with exceptional healthcare.”

About White Plains Hospital

White Plains Hospital (WPH) is a 292-bed not-for-profit health care organization with the primary mission of providing exceptional acute and preventive medical care to all people who live in, work in or visit Westchester County and its surrounding areas. Centers of Excellence include theDickstein Cancer Treatment PavilionThe William & Sylvia Silberstein Neonatal & Maternity Centerand The Ruth and Jerome A. Siegel Stroke Center. The Hospital’s Flanzer Emergency Department is the busiest in Westchester County, seeing over 55,000 visits a year. White Plains Hospital is the only community hospital in Westchester County to perform lifesaving emergency & elective angioplasty in its Joan and Alan Herfort, M.D. Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory. The Hospital is fully accredited by the Joint Commission and earned its recognition as a Top Performer for Key Quality Measures® in 2013. The Hospital is also an eleven-time winner of the Consumer Choice Award, an honor given to the nation”s top hospitals by the National Research Corporation, and received Magnet® designation in 2012 from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). In 2014 White Plains Hospital received the Outstanding Patient Experience Award from Healthgrades®, given to only 5% of hospitals nationwide. White Plains Hospital is a member of the Montefiore Health System. For additional information, visit http://www.wphospital.org.