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Washington State Hospital Association Honors Washington Health Alliance Board Member Dr. Peter Rutherford

Washington Health Alliance board member and Confluence Health CEO Dr. Peter Rutherford was awarded the 2021 Joe Hopkins Memorial from the Washington State Hospital Association (WSHA). The Joe Hopkins Memorial Award was created in 1987 to acknowledge an individual who displays the spirit of Joe Hopkins, a long-time leader in Washington state health care. It is given each year by WSHA as a lifetime achievement award for a health care leader who has made outstanding contributions to health care in the state, especially to rural health care. Dr. Rutherford’s commitment to patient-centered care and his steadfast determination to helping patients live their healthiest lives make him well-deserving of this honor.

Dr. Rutherford joined Wenatchee Valley Medical Center as a physician in 1990. In 2013, he led the affiliation of two competing Central Washington hospitals–Central Washington Hospital and Wenatchee Valley Medical Center–and brought them together as Confluence Health, serving as CEO of the new organization. Dr. Rutherford was recognized in 2018 as an Outstanding Leader in Health Care by the Puget Sound Business Journal and served as chair to the WSHA Board of Directors from 2019 to 2020.

Under Dr. Rutherford’s leadership, Confluence Health has increased its workforce by 60%, opened three new clinic locations (including an on-site partnership with a local employer) and new services and technologies. In addition to Internal Medicine, his clinical interest is predominantly geriatric medicine. He is dedicated to developing a health system that is financially sustainable, improves the value of patient care and ensures local access to a range of safe, high-quality services, while maintaining local leadership in health care.

Published: December 1, 2021

About Washington Health Alliance

The Washington Health Alliance is a place where stakeholders work collaboratively to transform Washington state’s health care system for the better. The Alliance brings together organizations that share a commitment to drive change in our health care system by offering a forum for critical conversation and aligned efforts by stakeholders: purchasers, providers, health plans, consumers and other health care partners. The Alliance believes strongly in transparency and offers trusted and credible reporting of progress on measures of health care quality and value. The Alliance is a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit with more than 185 member organizations. A cornerstone of the Alliance's work is the Community Checkup, a report to the public comparing the performance of medical groups, hospitals and health plans and offering a community-level view on important measures of health care quality (www.wacommunitycheckup.org).

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