Johns Hopkins All Children’s names new CEO

Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital has named K. Alicia Schulhof as its new CEO.

Schulhof will start the new role on July 26, becoming the first female president of the hospital. She will succeed leader Thomas Kmetz, who has severed as interim president since 2019 and is resigning, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine’s news release on Thursday.

Schulhof was most recently serving as president of the Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis. Before joining Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital, she has leadership experience from working for Indiana University Health and HCA Healthcare. Although this is a new opportunity for Schulhof, she is no stranger to Tampa Bay. She previously served as the chief operating officer and ethics and compliance officer for Brandon Regional Hospital, and as associate administrator and ethics compliance officer for Northside Hospital and Tampa Bay Heart Institute in St. Petersburg.

“Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital is a beacon for hope and healing both regionally and around the country,” Schulhof said in the release. “I look forward to meeting the Tampa Bay community and helping the exceptional team of clinicians and staff at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital continue to shape the future of children’s health through research and clinical excellence.”

Schulhof will be taking the reigns of the 259-bed hospital during a critical time of transformation. She comes in as the hospital faced public scrutiny and challenges in 2018 after the Tampa Bay Times exposed the high number of fatalities in children from the Heart Institute. Several c-suite executives reigned after the news surfaced, including president Dr. Jonathan Ellen, which was succeeded by Kmetz. Since then, the hospital has gone through a rigorous process to address the concerns and restarting the Heart Institute’s operations.

It’s also a pivotal time in health care in general, as the country is now at the tail end of combatting the Covid-19 pandemic.