NORWAY —  Western Maine Health plans to elevate its chief operating officer to the role of president when its current leader retires at the end of the year. Andrea (Andy) Dodge Patstone, now the chief operating officer, will become president of WMH when Timothy A. Churchill retires at the end of the year. WMH includes Stephens Memorial Hospital and other healthcare providers in the greater Norway area.

“Our organization and the communities served by Western Maine Health are extremely fortunate to have someone of Andy’s caliber stepping into this role,” said Richard Petersen, president of MaineHealth, the parent organization of WMH. “Tim Churchill has been one of our most effective leaders, and WMH has been one of our best-run local health care providers. I’m certain Andy will pick up right where Tim left off.”

Churchill announced his intention to retire earlier this year after 23 years as leader of the Norway hospital and health care organization. That prompted a national search that led back to Patstone. “We couldn’t be more pleased,” said Tom Morton, chair of the Western Maine Health Board. “In Andy we get an extremely well-qualified executive who knows our organization top to bottom. Andy has done a great job overseeing our day-to-day operations these last 16 months. In that time she led our efforts in a number of critical areas, including the planning for our new medical office building, building stronger relationships with our MaineHealth partners and supporting our Board in its work setting strategic goals. I’ve no doubt she will make an outstanding president.”

Prior to joining WMH as its chief operating officer in April of 2018, Patstone was an executive with MaineHealth, which she joined in 2011, first as vice president of strategic initiatives and later as its senior vice president, system development. During her time at MaineHealth, she helped to build the organization into a fully integrated health system serving the 1.1 million people in its service area. She played a critical role in the development of a number of important initiatives, including the transition of MaineHealth’s Physician/Hospital Organization to an Accountable Care Organization, building collaborative partnerships among member hospitals and affiliates and supporting MaineHealth member boards’ efforts to shape MaineHealth’s evolving governance and financial structure.

Prior to joining MaineHealth, Patstone was in leadership positions with the Massachusetts Office of Health and Human Services. She also worked for several years with Accenture as a consultant specializing in health care. She holds a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Yale College and a master’s degree in public policy from the Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.

“Western Maine Health is a special place with a unique culture and tradition of excellence,” said Patstone. “Over the past 16 months I have developed a profound affection and passion for this organization, its leadership team, its culture and the patients we serve. I’m excited by the opportunity to carry on this tradition as we confront the opportunities and challenges of delivering quality health care in a rural setting in the years to come.”