Alexian Brothers names CEO

The new president and chief executive officer at Alexian Brothers Medical Center in Elk Grove Village already has one year of experience leading the hospital.

John Werrbach, 54, this week became the hospital's new president and CEO. He took over in an interim role after the death of Roger Johnson in March 2007.

Werrbach officially enters the position with a major expansion project already on the horizon.

Work on a new $200 million, five-story bed tower at Alexian Brothers will be finished in September 2009. The project will add 108 new private beds -- something that will improve patient care and comfort, Werrbach said.

He touts the Alexian Brothers' mission and values as driving the success of the hospital in the Northwest suburbs, where competition is fierce in the health-care field.

Alexian Brothers' employees embody this spirit, he said.

"The human piece, to me, is what's going to drive the success or failure" of health care, Werrbach said. "At the end of the day, it comes down to employee engagement and how they deliver care, and not just their technical expertise."

Werrbach began his health-care career at Alexian Brothers Medical Center as a clinical laboratory supervisor in the late 1970s. Most recently, he served as the hospital's chief operating officer and executive vice president of hospital operations.

He also was corporate vice president of operations with the Alexian Brothers Health System.

Besides his Alexian Brothers career, Werrbach worked as chief operating officer and chief administrative officer at Lincoln Park Hospital in Chicago.

He has held administrative director and vice president positions with Merit Health Systems LLC and St. James Hospitals & Health Centers in Chicago Heights.

Werrbach earned his bachelor's degree from Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago and his MBA from Northern Illinois University.

A Chicago native, he lives in South Elgin with wife, Nancy.