Kaiser currently serves as President of Non-Acute Operations for Ascension Health, the national organization of which Sacred Heart is a member. At Ascension, Kaiser has national responsibility for all of Ascension's non-acute care services including community health centers, senior care, long term care and ambulatory care facilities.

Since 1997 she has held a number of operational and strategic positions within Ascension Health. She currently resides in St. Louis and will be transitioning out of her current role into her new position in Pensacola over the next two months.

Kaiser has more than 20 years of experience in health care including management roles at hospitals in Ohio and Michigan. She also served as chief operating officer for an occupational health center and later a COO for a large physician group practice in Kansas City. Mo. She holds a master's degree in Health Care Administration and a master's degree in Business Administration, both from Saint Louis University.

In her new role at Sacred Heart, Laura will report to Patrick Madden, Sacred Heart Health System President and CEO. She will have regional responsibility for the management of all Sacred Heart operations, including Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola, Sacred Heart Hospital on the Emerald Coast in Walton County, and the new Sacred Heart Hospital under construction in Gulf County. She will play an active role in the development and implementation of the Health System's regional strategic and operational plans.

"Considering the tremendous regional growth of our Health System and our expansions planned in the next few years, we saw the need for an experienced executive with the vision and skills to advance Sacred Heart's mission and strategic direction," Madden said. "Laura has special expertise in health care services outside the hospital setting, such as home health care, outpatient services, senior care facilities and community health centers. We expect our services in these non-hospital settings to grow even more in the future, so Laura's experience in this area will be especially valuable as she moves into this newly created position."

About Sacred Heart's Regional System

Sacred Heart Health System has established itself as the most preferred hospital in Northwest Florida and the region's leader in providing high quality health care to children and adults. Key services include:

• The 458-bed Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola that includes the region's only Women's and Children's Hospital
• Sacred Heart Hospital on the Emerald Coast, a 50-bed hospital in Walton County, east of Destin
• The region's largest network of primary care and specialty doctors with offices from Foley, Ala. to Panama City Beach, Fla.
• A Regional Heart and Vascular Institute and a Stroke Center in Pensacola
• A Level II Trauma Center and Pediatric Trauma Center
• A Cancer Center affiliated with the M.D. Anderson Physicians Network®
• A home health agency
• A 120-bed nursing home
• An assisted living facility

This year, Sacred Heart also will build a 25-bed hospital in Port St. Joe and a new outpatient medical facility in Gulf Shores, Ala.

Sacred Heart is a member of Ascension Health, the nation's largest system of not-for-profit health care facilities. For more information, call 850-416-7000 or visit online at http://www.sacred-heart.org/.

About Ascension HealthAscension Health (http://www.ascensionhealth.org/) is transforming healthcare by providing the highest quality care to all, with special attention to those who are poor and vulnerable. Ascension Health, which provided $808 million in care of persons who are poor and community benefit last year, is the nation's largest Catholic and nonprofit health system. Ascension's mission-focused health ministries consist of 106,000 associates serving in 20 states and the District of Columbia.

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