PeaceHealth President and CEO Liz Dunne plans to retire next year and the system is tapping another current executive as her replacement.
Sarah Ness, executive vice president and chief administrative officer, will step in when Dunne leaves Jan. 3, the system announced.
Dunne has led Vancouver, Washington-based PeaceHealth since 2015. She served on the CHA Board of Trustees from 2019-2025.
In a press release, PeaceHealth credited her for leading "its transformation into one strategically aligned, integrated health system."
The release cites Dunne’s leadership for strategic partnerships, including with Kaiser Permanente and Oregon Health & Science University, that expanded access to care. It also credits her for philanthropic efforts that raised more in charitable contributions over the past decade than at any other time in PeaceHealth's history.
"Inspired by the courageous compassion of the founding sisters, together we’ve reimagined what health care can be — rooted in dignity, community and the deeper roots of health," Dunne says in the release. "I’m humbled by what we’ve built and deeply grateful to the caregivers who bring that vision to life every day."
Ness has more than two decades of service with PeaceHealth. The release credits her for promoting caregiver well-being through a holistic approach that nurtures the heart, mind, body and spirit and leading the modernization and automation of workforce management systems that have enhanced efficiency and adaptability. She helped foster the system’s Women of Peace movement to honor its legacy of female caregivers and to support and develop the ones who work there now.
"To be entrusted with the leadership of this 135-year ministry is an immense honor and profound responsibility," Ness says in the release. "I have deep respect for the foundation Liz has built and her leadership in navigating complexity while holding fast to our values. It is a privilege to build on the legacy of integrity, equity and innovation she leaves behind."
PeaceHealth serves communities in Washington, Oregon and Alaska. The system has about 16,000 caregivers, nearly 3,200 physicians and clinicians, more than 160 clinics, and nine medical centers serving both urban and rural communities throughout the Northwest.