St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center President Nominated
For New York State Health Commissioner Position

January 18, 2007—New York, NY--New York State Governor Eliot Spitzer announced today that he is nominating St. Luke’s - Roosevelt President Richard F. Daines, MD, to be the State’s new Commissioner of Health.

In a statement to the SLRHC and Continuum Health Partners community, Board Chair Mort Hyman and President Stanley Brezenoff said, “While we will be very sorry to see Dr. Daines leave SLRHC and Continuum, we can take solace in the fact that our State’s DOH will be in Richard’s incredibly capable and responsible hands. He is a man of enormous integrity who is sure to approach this role with his usual thoughtful consideration and respect for patients, physicians and nurses, and the hospital and health care community. The people of the State of New York will be the ultimate beneficiaries of this inspired nomination.”

They continued, “We are grateful to Dr. Daines for his outstanding leadership of St. Luke’s and Roosevelt over these past six years as President and CEO and Medical Director for two years prior. His accomplishments are too many to mention individually in a short memo. Under his leadership we have developed very strong administrative and clinical management teams that have helped bring SLRHC into a positive financial position that is well poised for the future. He will be missed.”

Dr. Daines nomination requires approval from the NY State Senate; he will assume his new post as soon as his appointment is confirmed. Continuum announced that SLRHC Chief Operating Officer Frank J. Cracolici, a well respected member of the senior management team, will serve as Interim President and CEO following Dr. Daines’ departure.

Richard F. Daines, M.D.

Richard F. Daines, M.D., President and CEO, St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center. Dr. Daines was appointed to this position on January 1, 2002. Prior to joining the Hospital Center as Medical Director in 2000, he served as Senior Vice President for Professional Affairs of St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx, New York since 1994 and the Medical Director from 1987 to 1999. Dr. Daines received a Bachelor of History degree from Utah State University in 1974 and served as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Bolivia, 1970-1972. He received his medical degree from Cornell University Medical College in 1978. He served a residency in internal medicine at New York Hospital and is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Critical Care Medicine (1987-1997).