Biography

Wayne Keathley, President and Chief Operating Officer of The Mount Sinai Hospital, held his first hospital job as an orderly at the age of 16, beginning what would become a 30-year career in health care and hospital administration that includes nearly all areas of hospital operations. After high school, he became a surgical technician, and following that, he held a variety of support and administrative positions in seven hospitals across three states.

Mr. Keathley came to Mount Sinai in late 2003 as Chief Operating Officer of The Mount Sinai Hospital and quickly assembled a talented and dedicated team for hospital operations. He recruited outstanding nursing and administrative leaders and created an operating culture that is dedicated to providing safe and compassionate care. He also helped build an external network of physician and hospital affiliates and energized business development efforts. This strengthened the institution’s presence in local and regional communities and resulted in unprecedented growth and market share over the past five years.

In 2008, Mr. Keathley was appointed Executive Vice President for Business Development of The Mount Sinai Medical Center. Later that year, he was named President of The Mount Sinai Hospital, and he continues to serve as Chief Operating Officer.

As President and COO, Mr. Keathley oversees all executive and operational functions of the Hospital, including ambulatory care and emergency services, and surgical, nursing, and support services. As Executive Vice President for Business Development, Mr. Keathley guides Mount Sinai’s efforts to build and strengthen relationships with community-based physicians and other institutional providers of care.

The Mount Sinai Hospital and Mount Sinai School of Medicine form a unified and integrated center of excellence. Under the leadership of Kenneth L. Davis, MD, President and CEO of The Mount Sinai Medical Center, Mr. Keathley and Dennis S. Charney, MD, Dean of Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs of The Mount Sinai Medical Center, have created the strategic and operational environment for effectively translating groundbreaking discoveries in science and medicine to clinical practice so that patients at Mount Sinai benefit from the most advanced care.

The Mount Sinai Hospital has experienced tremendous growth since 2003. The institution rebounded from budget deficits in 2002 to 2004 to surpluses each year thereafter. This impressive turnaround was driven by significant growth in patient discharges, emergency room and ambulatory care visits, transfers from other institutions, and surgical volume, which grew 26 percent from 2004 to 2008.

Under Mr. Keathley’s leadership, 2009 proved to be a year of exceptional achievement at The Mount Sinai Hospital. The Hospital was redesignated a Magnet Hospital by the American Nurses Credentialing Center for an additional four years. The Magnet Award is considered the gold standard for nursing excellence — only 6 percent of hospitals in the nation have received Magnet designation, and only 2 percent have received redesignation. The Hospital was also reaccredited by The Joint Commission, an independent, nonprofit health care group that rigorously evaluates and certifies the quality of patient care in health care organizations. Most recently, Mount Sinai was ranked 16th in the nation in the 2011-2012 edition of “America’s Best Hospitals,” published by U.S. News & World Report, and earned Honor Roll status.

Mr. Keathley studied business administration and health administration at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business Administration and the School of Public Health. At the same time, he also served as a night and weekend administrator at Lutheran Medical Center in Brooklyn. He graduated in 1981 with a degree in health administration and spent an additional year as an administrative resident at The Brooklyn Hospital in New York. At the conclusion of his residency, he was appointed Assistant Administrator at that hospital and later became the Senior Director for Professional Services. He left in 1989 to become Vice President of Professional Services and later Vice President of Operations at Lenox Hill Hospital, where he served until 2000. He was recruited to become the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of St. Peter's Health Care Services in Albany and remained there until assuming his position at The Mount Sinai Hospital.