QuickTake:

Heather Wall, named PeaceHealth’s interim chief executive for Oregon in April, assumes the job on a permanent basis. She succeeds Jim McGovern, who left the job after a tenure marked with controversy.

PeaceHealth has picked Heather Wall, a career nurse and healthcare leader, to be chief executive of the nonprofit’s Oregon region. 

Wall initially was named the interim chief executive for the Oregon region in April, after  former chief executive Jim McGovern was put on administrative leave after allegedly working outside the scope of his administrative license in patient care matters. In May, McGovern’s employment at PeaceHealth was ended.

The leave also came amid controversy over an attempt to put an out-of-state firm in charge of emergency departments at its Lane County hospitals.

PeaceHealth announced Wall’s appointment to the role permanently in a release Tuesday, Oct. 6. The organization’s Oregon region includes PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend in Springfield, PeaceHealth Peace Harbor Medical Center in Florence and PeaceHealth Cottage Grove Community Medical Center, as well as clinics and specialty services.

Heather Wall, chief executive of PeaceHealth’s Oregon region. Credit: Rod Butler / Provided/PeaceHealth

Wall has a career of more than two decades with PeaceHealth. In 2004, she started her career as a neurology nurse at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center, University District. She also served as vice president of patient care operations after becoming chief nursing officer at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart in 2018. 

She also has been the clinical director for the Gamma Knife Center, nurse manager of orthopedics and neurology, director of nursing for medical/surgical services and senior director of nursing.

“Heather’s strong focus on patient care, relationship-building ability, combination of compassion and accountability and unique dedication to Lane County and PeaceHealth made her the right person for the role,” Mark Korth, PeaceHealth chief transformation and operating officer, said in a statement. 

Wall earned her nursing degree at Lane Community College and a master’s degree in nursing, leadership and management at Walden University. 

“I am honored to serve our patients, caregivers and community in this new capacity, and I look forward to working together to address the current and future healthcare needs of Lane County and beyond,” Wall said in a statement. “In the last 22 years, I have seen first-hand the collective excellence, passion and commitment of our talented teams. I am excited to continue to build our future together in the Oregon region.”

PeaceHealth, based in Vancouver, Washington, is a nonprofit Catholic health system with hospitals and clinics in Washington, Oregon and Alaska.

— Lookout correspondent Ashli Blow contributed to this report.

Ben Botkin covers politics and policy in Lane County. He has worked as a journalist since 2003, most recently at the Oregon Capital Chronicle, where he covered justice, health and human services and documented regional efforts to combat fentanyl addiction. Botkin has worked in statehouses in Idaho, Nevada, Oklahoma and, of course, Oregon. When he's not working, you'll find him road tripping across the West, hiking or surfing along the Oregon Coast.