Ettore Palazzo, MD, FACP assumed his new role as CEO of EvergreenHealth
on Dec. 10, 2023. Since then, he's reached out to over 14 organizations addressing the community's "State of Healthcare."
KIRKLAND, WA – The EvergreenHealth Board of Commissioners appointed Ettore Palazzo, MD, FACP, CEO of EvergreenHealth, a public hospital district and two-hospital healthcare system effective Dec. 10, 2023. Dr. Palazzo assumed the role following the retirement of CEO Jeff Tomlin, MD.
“Over the past 20 years, some of the greatest, as well as most challenging, moments of my personal and professional life have taken place at EvergreenHealth,” said Dr. Palazzo. “It is the honor of a lifetime to work for this organization and serve its community as the next Chief Executive Officer.”
Dr. Palazzo has served EvergreenHealth and its community for 20 years. He joined EvergreenHealth in 2003 as a hospitalist and most recently served as the Chief Medical and Quality Officer.
When Dr. Palazzo joined EvergreenHealth, he was soon elected managing physician of the Internal Medicine hospitalist service, acting as the liaison between hospitalists and the EvergreenHealth Administrative Council. He then spent almost nine years as IT Medical Director of Inpatient Services while continuing to see and treat patients.
In 2014, Dr. Palazzo was appointed Quality Medical Director and was tasked with improving EvergreenHealth’s readmission rates. He created and implemented successful strategies that not only achieved lower readmission rates but also led to patient safety and outstanding outcomes awards and recognitions from organizations like Healthgrades, Leapfrog and the Lown Institute.
In 2019, just months before EvergreenHealth would be the first hospital in the U.S. to report community spread of COVID-19, Dr. Tomlin offered Dr. Palazzo the role of Interim Chief Medical and Quality Officer. Dr. Palazzo accepted the role and began overseeing risk management, quality/patient safety, regulatory, infection control, pharmacy services and hospitalist/intensivist services. Throughout the pandemic, Dr. Palazzo demonstrated his ability to lead compassionately as he guided his teams through unprecedented issues and helped the hospital system to continue delivering high-quality care.
“The last several years have been incredibly challenging for the organization, both clinically and financially, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftereffects,” said Dr. Palazzo. “Despite those challenges, EvergreenHealth has remained true to its mission, vision and values, achieving its highest marks in quality and patient safety in the history of the organization, as our staff consistently strives to achieve even better outcomes.”
Ultimately, Dr. Palazzo accepted the permanent position of Chief Medical and Quality Officer. In addition to his roles at EvergreenHealth, Dr. Palazzo has been a member of the Eastside Health Alliance Quality Council since July 2017 and is currently a Board of Directors member and Appointed Chair of the Washington State Hospital Association’s Patient Safety Committee. Dr. Palazzo also served as a Quality Committee member for the Eastside Health Network from July 2017 to May 2023.
“We’re delighted and honored to confirm Dr. Palazzo’s selection as CEO of EvergreenHealth and look forward to his leadership in the years to come as we continue our journey of 50-plus years, enriching the health and well-being of every life we touch,” said EvergreenHealth Board of Commissioners Chair Virgil Snyder.
