July 10, 2025

Wellstar

Patel

The Wellstar Board of Trustees has selected Ketul J. Patel to become Wellstar Health System's next president and chief executive officer. Patel currently serves as CEO of Virginia Mason Franciscan Health and president of the Pacific Northwest Region of CommonSpirit Health. He is expected to join Wellstar in late October. Patel will succeed Candice L. Saunders, Wellstar's current president and CEO, who announced her retirement in January.

In January 2021, Patel led the merger of two of the Pacific Northwest's leading health care organizations to form Virginia Mason Franciscan Health (VMFH), which today is one of Washington state's largest premier health care providers. Patel launched the VMFH Care Network in 2024 to provide expertise to independent hospitals and health systems throughout Washington, Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Montana. He oversees the Benaroya Research Institute and the Bailey-Boushay House, the first skilled nursing and outpatient chronic care management program in the U.S. designed specifically to meet the needs of people with HIV/AIDS.

Patel chairs the Washington State Hospital Association board and is past chair of the Greater Seattle Partners executive council. He also serves on the boards of Washington Roundtable, Challenge Seattle, and CEOs Against Cancer, and is a past member of the American Hospital Association Regional Policy Board.

Patel holds master's degrees in health administration and business administration from the University of Pittsburgh and a bachelor's degree from Johns Hopkins University.