Trinity Regional Health System's Board of Directors has announced the appointment of Richard (Rick) A. Seidler as Trinity's new President and Chief Executive Officer, effective June 1.  Seidler will replace interim President and CEO Tom Tibbitts who will remain as a Trinity system development consultant through the end of the year.

Seidler has been President and CEO of Allen Memorial Hospital in Waterloo, Iowa, for the past 12 years. Prior to joining Allen in 1998, Seidler served as CEO of Davenport Medical Center, a 150-bed hospital which was later acquired and relocated by Trinity Regional Health System, and is now known as Trinity Bettendorf.  He was a resident of the Quad-Cities for five years during that leadership tenure.

Both Allen and Trinity are senior affiliate hospitals of Iowa Health System, based in Des Moines.

With more than 30 years of executive health-care experience, Seidler has held senior leadership positions in both nonprofit and investor-owned health care organizations in California and Iowa.

"Rick's experience and credentials make him an outstanding choice for Trinity," Trinity's Chairman of the Board Linda Newborn said.  "We welcome Rick back to the region where his experiences at Allen and Iowa Health System have prepared him well to lead Trinity into the future."

Trinity's former President and CEO and currently the President and CEO of Iowa Health System, Bill Leaver said of Seidler:  "Rick has been a dedicated and talented leader at Allen for 12 years. Rick's leadership skills and commitment are evident to all who meet him."

During Seidler's tenure, Allen established itself as the health care leader in heart, vascular and emergency care for the Cedar Valley region.  Seidler oversaw a $47 million expansion project for a new emergency department, heart and vascular center in 2009, a new birthing center in 2004 and a 135,000-square-foot ambulatory medical-service mall in 2000, which recently completed a $10 million expansion.

"I am very enthusiastic about this opportunity to lead Trinity," Seidler said. "I am encouraged by what is happening in the community. I'm also excited by what I know is happening at Trinity, with its outstanding patient outcomes. Trinity has a culture of committed employees, outstanding physicians and high-quality care."

Rick also has served in several senior executive positions, including Summit Medical Center in Oakland, Calif., and St. Joseph's Medical Center in Stockton, Calif. He earned his Bachelor of Business Administration and Master of Business Administration degrees with a concentration in health care administration from the University of Miami in Florida.

A member of many civic and professional associations, Seidler is past chair of the Waterloo Chamber of Commerce and helped create the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance. Seidler is a Fellow and Regent of the American College of Healthcare Executives and is a board member and past chair of the Iowa Hospital Association, representing all 117 hospitals across Iowa.

Seidler and his wife, Nancy, have two grown children. They will relocate to the Quad-Cities this summer.

About Trinity Regional Health System

Trinity operates four full-service hospitals in Rock Island and Moline, Illinois, and Bettendorf and Muscatine, Iowa, with a total of 595 licensed inpatient beds and 11 hospice beds, as well as 27 primary care and specialty clinics with 70 employed physicians.  Trinity also operates Trinity Visiting Nurse and Homecare Association, Trinity Home Care Products, the Robert Young Center for Community Mental Health, Trinity College of Nursing and Health Sciences and Trinity Osteopathic Family Practice Medical Residency Program. Trinity is a senior affiliate of Iowa Health System, the state's first and largest integrated health system that serves the health-care needs of one in three Iowans. 

Trinity's leadership in quality and service excellence has helped earn Trinity top industry awards for patient safety, excellent outcomes and cost control. Trinity's Five-Star-rated heart program is ranked in the top ten percent of heart programs in the United States. Trinity also recently became the first bi-state hospital to earn Magnet^TM status from the American Nursing Credentialing Center, placing Trinity in the top five percent of all U.S. hospitals as a center for nursing excellence. 

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Judiciary Committee Advances Leahy, Grassley Drug Free Communities Bill

WASHINGTON (Thursday, April 15, 2010) - The Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday voted to advance legislation authored by Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) to authorize additional Drug Free Communities (DFC) grants that will assist community coalitions in lowering substance abuse rates in neighborhoods across the country.  Leahy chairs the panel, and Grassley is a senior member of the Committee.

Leahy and Grassley introduced the Drug Free Communities Enhancement Act in February.  The bill will allow current and former DFCs to apply for grants of up to $75,000 per year to implement comprehensive, community-wide strategies to address emerging drug trends or local drug crises.  Community coalitions qualify for supplemental Drug Free Community grants if local data shows evidence of drug use and abuse rates above the national average, or if rates of use and abuse for a specific drug continue over a sustained period of time.  Grant applicants must submit a detailed, comprehensive, multi-sector plan for addressing the emerging local drug issue or crisis within the area served by the applicant.  Applicants are eligible for grants up to $75,000 per year for up to four years.

"I have spoken with a number of Vermonters representing these community partnerships, and I have heard about the innovative frameworks they have implemented to combat drug abuse in their communities, thanks in large part to Drug Free Communities grants," said Leahy.  "This legislation will enable many of those communities to secure additional funding to continue their efforts.  Communities nationwide are facing serious drug issues, and will benefit from these enhancement grants.  I thank Senator Grassley for his partnership on this issue, and I hope the Senate will quickly pass this legislation."

"Grassroots organizations are creating strategies to fight drug abuse in their own communities and succeeding.  Their efforts have made a real difference on the frontlines.  It's clear that Drug Free Communities grantees know how to best meet the challenges faced by a particular community," Grassley said.  "Now, the enhancement grants will add another tool to help these groups identify new and emerging drug abuse issues and work to defeat the threat to their kids and families."

The Judiciary Committee has oversight of the Office of National Drug Control Policy; the DFC federal grant program is administered by the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Drug Free Community grants may also be used to obtain specialized training and technical assistance to improve the operation of DFC coalitions.  The program is a matching grant program, and DFC grantees are eligible to receive federal funds up to the amount of funds raised by the organization.  The Drug Free Communities Enhancement Act authorizes funding from 2011 through 2015.  An amendment adopted by the Judiciary Committee Thursday incorporates additional oversight and transparency provisions into the legislation.

Leahy and Grassley have partnered on several legislative and oversight efforts over the years.  Last year they teamed to author the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act, which was signed into law in May.

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