Christus St. Vincent names first female president, CEO
Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center named Lillian Montoya its president and CEO on Monday, the first female chief executive there since the Sisters of Charity established the hospital in Santa Fe in 1865.
Montoya is an ideal choice for the role, said Karen Wells, chairwoman of the hospital board of directors. Montoya is a former board member and chairwoman who later joined the Christus St. Vincent executive team. She understands both the hospital operation as well as its broader mission in the community, Wells said.
“She’s a woman in a significant leadership role and has a history that demonstrates she can do the job,” Wells said.
Montoya, whose background includes work in the public and private sectors, said her previous work for Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Regional Development Corp., among other organizations, provided experience not only in day-today operations but also in strategic planning. Her work outside the health care sector was “strikingly similar” to her role at Christus St. Vincent, she said.
She previously worked as executive director of New Mexico Independent Community Colleges and as program manager of the New Mexico Early Childhood Development Partnership. She also served as director of the community programs office at Los Alamos National Laboratory and as deputy director of the New Mexico Commission on Higher Education, among other roles.
Montoya in 2010 joined the hospital board of directors, became chairwoman three years later and six months after that was hired by the hospital as vice president for public policy and stakeholder engagement. In 2016, she became the hospital’s chief administrative officer, with oversight of hospital operations, from surgical services to food, nutrition and public affairs.
Not only the first female CEO at Christus St. Vincent, Montoya is the first Hispanic woman in that role. She said she feels honored by her selection and responsible for setting an example. “Folks have been calling and saying they didn’t think people who look like us could be in those jobs,” she said Monday. “It’s not lost on me how significant it is, not only managing the hospital but being a role model.”
She listed three goals as CEO: fostering a “zero harm” culture, improving the patient experience and engaging hospital employees in the everyday work of caring for patients and their families.
Wells, a retired registered nurse, said that patients expect not only quality care but a professional they trust and who cares about their well-being.
“Lillian made me think about that,” she said. “It’s elusive, and it’s not the kind of thing we can set a measurement for.”
Montoya, who holds an MBA from the University of New Mexico, succeeds Pat Carrier, who retires in June after serving as chief executive since November 2015. Carrier has been with Christus St. Vincent for 18 years, according to a hospital news release.
Montoya takes over as chief executive on June 15.
“It’s not lost on me how significant it is, not only managing the hospital but being a role model.” Lillian Montoya, the first woman to become CEO of Christus St. Vincent