Stanford to join Healthscope board

Long-serving St John of God Health Care chief executive Michael Stanford has resigned to pursue a non-executive career, starting with the board of ASX-listed competitor Healthscope.

Dr Stanford will finish at St John of God on March 21 and start at Healthscope on March 26.

He has been chief executive at St John since 2002, helping grow the organisation to become the third largest non-government hospital operator in Australia, with annual revenue of $1.7 billion.

The only groups that are larger are Ramsay Health Care, with Australian revenue of $4.7 billion, and Healthscope, with total revenue of $2.3 billion.

Healthscope’s WA assets comprise the Mount Hospital and 12 medical centres scattered across suburban Perth.

St John chairman Tony Howarth thanked Dr Stanford for his leadership and outstanding contribution, and said he was leaving the organisation in excellent shape.

“Under Michael’s leadership St John of God Health has become a major player in the national health sector,” Mr Howarth said.

He added Dr Stanford had retained a strong focus on St John’s faith-based mission and compassionate care, while overseeing expansion through mergers and acquisitions, redevelopment and the expansion of public contracts.

The group’s recent initiatives have included developing the joint public and private hospitals at Midland.

Another recent initiative was the sale of its pathology business to Australian Clinical Labs, which was established in 2015 when private equity group Crescent Capital Partners (one of the former owners of Healthscope) funded a buyout of Healthscope’s domestic pathology business.

St John holds a minority shareholding in Australian Clinical Labs, in which Dr Stanford is currently a non-executive director.

He is also a member of the board of the Chamber of Arts & Culture of WA.

Mr Howarth said executive search firm Gerard Daniels had been appointed to find a replacement for Dr Stanford.