Spectrum Health United Memorial Officially Names Freese as President

The Spectrum Health United Memorial Board of Directors has announced Christina Freese-Decker, interim president, has been named president, Spectrum Health United Memorial, effective immediately.

Tina has been serving as the interim president at Spectrum Health United Memorial since July 1, 2011. Since that time, she has cultivated very positive relationships with the board of trustees, physicians, employees and the community. In addition, she has been instrumental in continuing implementation of the many ongoing strategic initiatives at both United and Kelsey hospitals.

Spectrum Health United Memorial consists of Spectrum Health United Hospital in Greenville, Spectrum Health Kelsey Hospital in Lakeview, the Spectrum Health United Memorial Foundation and United Lifestyles.

“In her role as interim president, Tina proved herself a dedicated, compassionate leader, committed to carrying on the strategic plan and mission of our local hospitals,” said David Mack, Spectrum Health United Memorial Board Chairman.

“Tina is driven to meet the current and future needs of the local community. Additionally, the Board has been impressed with her ability to personally connect with medical staff, leadership and employees, providing everyone opportunity to share in her vision. Tina has invested a great deal of time to get to know her team, her providers and those who are serving patients each day.”

She joined Spectrum Health in 2002 as a postgraduate fellow in health care administration. In 2003, she became director, system strategic planning and development. Three years later, she was named vice president of the department and executive director of the Spectrum Health Regional Hospital Network. Her experience in strategic planning and developing system wide growth and business plans will be an asset to Spectrum Health United Memorial as she continues implementation of the many strategic initiatives started under Paul Bonis’ leadership.

Tina earned her bachelor’s degree in finance from Iowa State University in Ames and holds master’s degrees in health administration and industrial engineering from The University of Iowa in Iowa City.

“I am thrilled to have this opportunity. It is an honor to take care of people in this community. I am impressed by the medical staff, employees and volunteers at Spectrum Health United Memorial who are dedicated to our mission and vision,” said Tina Freese-Decker.

“I have seen United Memorial grow tremendously over the past nine years. I look forward to becoming even more integrated into the greater Greenville and Lakeview communities and strategically growing our services to meet the needs of the community.”

About Spectrum Health
Spectrum Health is a not-for-profit health system in West Michigan offering a full continuum of care through the Spectrum Health Hospital Group, which is comprised of nine hospitals including Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, a state of the art children’s hospital that opened in January 2011, and 190 service sites; the Spectrum Health Medical Group and West Michigan Heart, physician groups totaling more than 600 providers; and Priority Health, a health plan with 625,000 members. Spectrum Health is West Michigan’s largest employer with more than 18,000 employees. The organization provided $176.5 million in community benefit during its 2011 fiscal year. In 2011 and 2010, Spectrum Health was named a Top 10 Health System by Thomson Reuters.