Lars Houmann named chief operating officer for Adventist Health System

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla., Dec. 16, 2016 Lars Houmann, executive vice president for Adventist Health System and president/CEO of its Florida Division, has been promoted to chief operating officer for Adventist Health System, effective immediately. In this role, Houmann will oversee all of the organizations hospital divisions, comprised of 46 hospital campuses in 10 states, as well as enterprise-wide operational functions that advance the patient care model. I have worked with Lars for 20 years and am excited to have him as the second in command for Adventist Health System. With him in this role, the entire organization will benefit from his tremendous experience and expertise running complex and sophisticated health care networks. Our company is blessed to have the learning and continuity provided by Lars as he continues to lead Florida and now expands his leadership to our other communities, said Terry Shaw, president/CEO of Adventist Health System. Houmann's career with Adventist Health System spans more than 25 years. He began his career in Seventh-day Adventist health care in 1981 as budget director for New England Memorial Hospital, where he later became administrative director. In 1985, he became administrator of Florida Hospitals Center of Psychiatry, and in 1987, he accepted a position as administrative director for the Mountain View campus of Simi Valley Adventist Hospital. From 1989 to 1993, he held leadership roles for several for-profit hospitals in California and Arizona. He returned to Adventist health care in 1993 as a vice president for Florida Hospital, overseeing facility management for multiple campuses as well as the systems behavioral health services. Houmann became administrator for Florida Hospital Altamonte in 1996, with additional leadership responsibilities for Florida Hospital Kissimmee and Florida Hospital Apopka. In 1998, Houmann became chief operating officer for a three-hospital region of Florida Hospital, and administrator for Florida Hospital Celebration Health. In 2001, he was named executive vice president and chief operating officer for the Florida Hospital system. Houmann went on to serve as its president and chief executive officer from 2006 to 2015, when he became executive vice president for Adventist Health System and president/CEO of its Florida Division. I look forward to serving Adventist Health System in this new capacity. We know that our organization must become a more integrated, effective and affordable system and I am enthusiastic about the opportunity to lead that work, which will benefit every community we are privileged to serve, said Houmann. Houmann received his bachelors degree in business administration from Washington Adventist University and his masters degree in health care administration from Loma Linda University. He also holds an honorary doctorate in health care administration from Northern Caribbean University in Mandeville, Jamaica. Houmann, raised in the U.S., was born in Ethiopia to Danish parents, who moved there to provide health care as Seventh-day Adventist missionaries. He and his wife, Julie, reside in Apopka, Florida and have three adult children. About Adventist Health System Adventist Health System is a faith-based health care organization headquartered in Altamonte Springs, Florida. A national leader in quality, safety and patient satisfaction, Adventist Health System's more than 80,000 employees maintain a tradition of whole-person health by caring for the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of every patient. With 46 hospital campuses and more than 8,300 licensed beds in 10 states, Adventist Health System facilities incorporate the latest technological advancements and clinical research to serve more than 4.7 million patients annually. The full continuum of integrated care also includes urgent care centers, physician practices, home health and hospice agencies, and skilled nursing facilities.