Foundation names Dr. Kathleen C. Hittner to board of directors

Rhode Island Foundation Chairman David M. Hirsch has announced that Dr. Kathleen C. Hittner, senior vice president of community health at the Lifespan System, and senior vice president of its perioperative services, has been appointed a director of the Foundation. The Foundation board of directors includes 13 community leaders; directors may serve up to two consecutive five year terms.

Dr. Hittner, whose responsibilities include oversight for attracting and retaining primary care physicians in Rhode Island, serving as a liaison to community health centers and the physician community and promoting operational efficiency, quality, safety and high performance in the operating rooms at Rhode Island Hospital and The Miriam Hospital, was formerly president and CEO of The Miriam.

In making the appointment, Chairman Hirsch stated, “Kathleen Hittner is one of the preeminent women in our state. Beyond her extensive accomplishments as a physician and hospital president, she is also actively involved in ensuring that all Rhode Islanders have access to quality and affordable primary healthcare, a top Foundation priority. We’re honored to welcome her to our board.”

Dr. Hittner noted that she had enjoyed collaborating with the Foundation on several projects related to primary healthcare and increasing the number of primary care providers in the state. “Knowing the Foundation as I do, I am excited to join the board and work with my fellow directors to strengthen existing partnerships in the community that are advancing the important mission of meeting the needs of the people of Rhode Island.”

Dr. Hittner has been active in community and business organizations as an advocate for improving the health and economic status of Rhode Island citizens. She has served on the boards of the American Heart Association, RI Chapter, the Urban League, the Hospital Association of Rhode Island, and Bryant University. Her current service is to Albright College (her alma mater), the Rhode Island Airport Corporation, Greenwood Credit Union, The Providence Community Health Centers, and the Rhode Island Free Clinic. She has chaired the Rhode Island Airport Corporation since March 2007. Dr. Hittner recently completed her term as a trustee of Bryant University.

Dr. Hittner was a three-time Rhode Island Monthly “Top Doc” in the state and has received many other honors and awards. The Rhode Island Commission on Women named her Woman of the Year in October 2009, and she received the Providence Business News 2009 Business Women Award for Healthcare Leader. In the fall of 2007 she received the Physician of the Year Award from the Rhode Island Medical Society and the Banice Feinberg Physician of the Year Award from the American Heart Association. Bryant University named her New England Businesswoman of the Year in 2006. Albright College, her alma mater, named her a distinguished alumna for 2005. In January 2004, Senator Jack Reed recognized Dr. Hittner as a Local Legend in Rhode Island for her accomplishments as a woman physician.

She earned a BS from Albright College and an MD from Tufts University School of Medicine. She completed her residency in clinical anesthesiology in 1976 at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, DC, where she became chief resident in anesthesiology. Dr. Hittner remained in the Washington area to direct the cardiac anesthesia service at the Clinical Center of the National Institutes of Health while also serving as assistant professor in the department of anesthesiology at Georgetown. She received board certification as Diplomat to the American Board of Anesthesiology in 1978.

In 1979, Dr. Hittner moved to Rhode Island to begin her long tenure as a clinician and administrator at The Miriam. Within three years of arriving she advanced from staff anesthesiologist to director of cardiovascular anesthesia, a position she held until 1996. She served as chairman of the pharmacy committee from 1983-2000, as anesthesiologist-in-chief from 1996-2000, and as president of the medical staff from 1998-2000. Dr. Hittner served as president and CEO of the Hospital from April 2000 through August 2009 and as president of The Miriam Hospital Foundation from January 2001 through August 2009.

Financial stability and growth marked Dr. Hittner’s tenure at The Miriam. A $30 million capital campaign was successfully completed, a $76 million addition to the hospital enhanced the patient and employee experience, and advanced robotic surgery was introduced. A women’s cardiac program and a men’s health program provided gender specific care. Patient satisfaction increased from the 37th percentile to well over the 90th percentile.

Dr. Hittner is also on the faculty of The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, where she is a clinical professor of surgery in the department of anesthesiology. She was the recipient of the School of Medicine's “Distinguished Teacher Award” in 2000 and 2004.

Dr. Hittner's activities as a researcher have resulted in scientific publications and numerous invitations to speak at conferences regionally and nationally. She maintains membership in a myriad of professional societies and has held officer positions in many of them, serving as president of the Rhode Island Society of Anesthesiologists (1988-1990), president of the Rhode Island Medical Society (1991-1992), delegate to the American Society of Anesthesiologists for the Rhode Island Society of Anesthesiologists (1990-2000), and delegate to the AMA for the Rhode Island Medical Society (1998-2000). Dr. Hittner completed the requirements to be certified as a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives.