News & Press Releases
January 22, 2010 — Kenneth H. Belcher Named President and CEO of CharterCARE
Health Partners
Kenneth H. Belcher has been named President and Chief Executive Officer of CharterCARE Health Partners, the corporate parent of Roger Williams Medical Center and St. Joseph Health Services of Rhode Island. Belcher will continue to serve as President and CEO of Roger Williams while taking on the additional responsibility of leading CharterCARE.
“Since 2005, Ken Belcher has shown tremendous vision and resourcefulness at the helm of Roger Williams Medical Center,” said Edwin J. Santos, Chairman of the Board of CharterCARE Health Partners. “We look forward to his continued leadership in this increasingly challenging health care environment.”
Prior to joining Roger Williams in 2005, Belcher served as Vice President, Ancillary Services at Boston Medical Center. Belcher received his Masters in Business Administration from Babson College, Wellesley, MA. He also previously served as a vice president at Faulkner Hospital and University Hospital, both in Boston. Belcher holds the designation of FACHE (Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.)
“CharterCARE Health Partners is built on the concept that the community deserves access to quality health care,” said Belcher. “The dedicated team of caregivers and support staff at both St. Joseph and Roger Williams work tirelessly every day to ensure those community needs are met.”
Belcher is Chairman of the Hospital Association of Rhode Island and is a trustee of the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council. He is active in a number of charitable organizations and was most recently Chairman of the 2009 “Light The Night Walk” fundraiser for the Rhode Island Chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
Under Mr. Belcher’s leadership, Roger Williams has recorded a number of impressive accomplishments, including:
- Expansion of the Cancer Center at Roger Williams, home to the state’s only Bone Marrow Transplant Unit.
- A $5.9 million award to research how breast cancer patients’ own cells can be modified to fight their disease. Awarded in 2009, it is the largest breast cancer research grant ever received in Rhode Island.
- An $11.8 million National Institutes of Health grant awarded in 2008 to study tissue repair, with specific focus on the role of adult stem cells in the healing process.
- A number of firsts in surgery including the nation's first laparoscopic bipolar radiofrequency liver tumor ablation.
- Receipt of the Cancer Center as an Outstanding Achievement Award from the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer. Only 6% of the programs surveyed nationally during this period received this designation.
- Receipt of a 2009 Exemplary Award for Worksite Wellness, the highest possible recognition given by the Providence Chamber of Commerce.
- Implementation of a new campus-wide Ethics Program