Salmon Creek hospital leader to take helm at Portland facility

Jonathan Avery, chief administrative officer at Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center, will leave that position to take the helm of Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center in Portland on Jan. 6, the Salmon Creek hospital said Tuesday in a news release.

Avery “has done a phenomenal job” leading the Salmon Creek facility since before the hospital opened in 2005, Legacy Health Chief Operating Officer Mike Newcomb said in the news release. Avery has improved the Salmon Creek hospital’s performance “at all levels,” including by implementing comprehensive “lean” management principles, according to Newcomb.

That experience with improving work processes, boosting efficiencies and achieving better outcomes “will serve Good Samaritan well and take it to the next level of performance,” Newcomb said.

In becoming Samaritan’s new chief administrative officer, Avery will fill the position vacated by CAO Tony Melaragno, who became system vice president in charge of Legacy’s cancer and behavioral health service lines.

As to his new role heading up the Salmon Creek hospital, Helgerson said: “I look forward to joining the team at Salmon Creek to continue to build on a strong tradition of service, high quality patient care and a spirit of innovation that will lead us into the new era of health care.”