Page 12 - Minnesota Vol 8 No 3

Rich Ostlund Selected as
Board Chair of Fairview
Health Services
BY JOSH GARCIA
Rich Ostlund brings years of experience in business, gover- nance and championing com- munity health care to his role
as Chair on the Board of Directors at Fairview Health Services.
Ostlund has spent decades support- ing community health initiatives in multiple charities and organizations, o en pursuing and accepting leader- ship positions to help steer the course of health care in Minnesota. He has served as Director and Chair of the Board of the University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital, Director of the University of Minnesota Pedi- atrics Foundation, and Trustee of the Minnesota Medical Foundation and University of Minnesota Foundation.
“Twenty years ago, my wife Mary and I began supporting pediatric medical research and care as a way to give back and say thank you for being blessed with three healthy children,” Ostlund says.
Ostlund and his wife have also es- tablished the Summer’s Wish Pedi- atric Cardiology Innovators Fund, which supports pediatric cardiac care research and innovation at the Uni- versity of Minnesota.
FROM MEMBER TO CHAIR
Ostlund’s commitment to support- ing quality community health care caught the eyes of local leaders, who asked him to join the Fairview Health Services Board in 2013. Ostlund ac- cepted the o er and has dedicated himself to making an impact as a member ever since.
“To serve our community in a time of great change across local health care was a compelling and inspiring opportunity,” Ostlund says.
The most rewarding role in my life now is being ‘Bum- pa’ Rich to seven young grandchildren — seeing the future through their eyes makes me appreciate that it is such a privilege to have served the communi- ty as an M Health Fairview Director.”
and renewed partner- ship will positively change the future of quality healthcare de- livery and medical edu- cation across our state,” Ostlund says.
Ostlund has served in multiple roles as a board member, including Chair of the Fairview Governance Task Force, which examined national health sys- tem best practices for possible use within Fairview Health Services. He also served as Chair of the Fairview Governance Committee and First Vice-Chair of the Board. In addition, he has been a member of the Fairview Finance and Executive Committees, and with a number of other Fairview leaders, was involved in the hiring of James Hereford as President and CEO of Fairview Health Services.
Alongside Hereford, Ostlund then helped renegotiate the partnership between Fairview Health Services, the University of Minnesota and Univer- sity of Minnesota Physicians. He con- siders this his greatest contribution during his tenure on the board.
“I believe this exciting agreement
Ostlund was also instrumental in guiding Fairview Health Services in a new direction in 2015, as chair of the Goverance Task Force
“Our goal was to reshape our over- all system of governance and to re- cruit a Board of Directors with the cross-section of life and professional experience to best oversee and guide a complex, multibillion dollar health- care, senior living, insurance and spe- cialty pharmacy enterprise,” Ostlund says. “As Chair of the Board of Di- rectors, I will continue to work with my collegues to be a leader of posi- tive change to meet today’s healthcare challenges.”
A ROLE OF PERSONAL IMPORTANCE
Ostlund has experienced the bene- t of having accessible, high-level spe-
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