It was a selection delayed by more than a year due to COVID, but the head of western New York’s largest health-care provider has been tapped as new president and chief executive officer of Virginia Hospital Center.
Christopher Lane, whose appointment was announced Jan. 19, will assume the position in late March. He succeeds current CEO James Cole, who has served at the hospital in a variety of capacities for 36 years.
“We are thrilled to welcome Chris to Virginia Hospital Center, and think he will do an excellent job stepping into the role,” said Russell McWey, MD, chairman of the hospital’s board.
“Chris’s experience forming strategic alliances and partnerships and his record of success with growth and retention efforts make him the perfect person to guide our health system forward as we embark on this next chapter,” McWey said.
Lane comes to Virginia Hospital Center from Kaleida Health, where he has served as president of the system’s flagship hospital – Buffalo General Medical Center – and the Gates Vascular Institute since 2016.
Buffalo General is a 492-bed tertiary medical center with more than 4,500 employees and annual revenues in excess of $750 million. The facility sees more than 55,000 patients in its emergency department, 24,000 admissions and 800 open-heart procedures each year, and is the largest training site for the University at Buffalo Medical School.
Lane also is a corporate vice president with Kaleida Health, with responsibilities that include leading imaging, long-term care, and joint-ventured surgery centers.
“I am honored to have been selected,” Lane said in a statement. “I am proud to continue Jim Cole’s legacy of patient-focused quality care.”
Lane praised the Virginia Hospital Center’s “incredible employee culture and passion for providing excellent patient care.”
Lane holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Colgate University, and received his master’s degree in health-care administration from D’Youville College in Buffalo.
Lane and his wife Robin are parents of two college-aged children.
Virginia Hospital Center is a 437-bed not-for-profit teaching facility whose roots (as Arlington Hospital) date back to the 1940s. The hospital currently is in the midst of a $250 million expansion project on its main North George Mason Drive campus.
Cole had announced plans to retire before the COVID pandemic hit, but remained in his post to guide the hospital during the initial stages of the crisis.