WASHINGTON, DC (April 11, 2013) — Joseph Swedish, who has served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Catholic Health Association of the United States (CHA) since June 2012, has resigned from the Board as he transitions to the role of Chief Executive Officer for WellPoint, Inc.

Mr. Swedish has served on the CHA Board since 2006. He held positions on the executive committee, membership task force, governance committee and community benefit task force. In addition, Mr. Swedish chaired the Finance Committee as well as the Advocacy and Public Policy Committee.

In his resignation letter, Mr. Swedish explained that his new responsibilities take him too far from the day-to-day work of CHA and its members. Mr. Swedish expressed appreciation for the opportunity to lead the Catholic Health Association and to work with "so many dedicated and inspired ministry leaders."

Deborah Proctor, president and chief executive officer of St. Joseph Health System in Orange, CA, is the incoming CHA chairperson for 2013-2014, and has been elected by the board to serve as interim chair until her formal term begins in June.

Ms. Proctor said: "I want to express my deep gratitude to Joe for his commitment to CHA and its mission. We appreciate his thoughtful leadership of the CHA Board and his impressive ability to address challenges facing the association and its members."

CHA President and CEO Sr. Carol Keehan, DC, said: "In addition to generously offering his time and energy to the Board of Trustees, Joe also demonstrated his commitment to poor persons in the developing world by serving as chair of CHA's Stewardship Committee in support of the rebuilding of St. Francois de Sales Hospital in Port-au-Prince, Haiti."

Sr. Carol continued: "I am grateful to Joe for his service to CHA and Catholic health care. On behalf of CHA's staff and members, I wish him the very best at WellPoint."

The Catholic Health Association of the United States (CHA), founded in 1915, supports the Catholic health ministry's commitment to improve the health status of communities and create quality and compassionate health care that works for everyone. The Catholic health ministry is the nation's largest group of not-for-profit health systems and facilities that, along with their sponsoring organizations, employ more than 750,000 women and men who deliver services combining advanced technology with the Catholic caring tradition.