Mr. Walch serves as president and chief hospital executive of Hackensack Meridian Southern Ocean Medical Center, a nonprofit, 176-bed hospital with 1,300 team members and $310 million in annual revenue, bringing more than two decades of leadership experience within the Edison, N.J.-based Hackensack Meridian Health network. He began his career in 1998 as a staff physical therapist before advancing through successive leadership roles. He now oversees medical center operations, physician relationships and the continuous improvement of quality, safety and patient experience. Under his leadership, the community hospital’s patient experience scores have significantly risen as the hospital increases its subspecialty providers, expands surgical services and invests in new technology, including robotics. The hospital is also attracting orthopedic, breast and plastic surgeons and oncology subspecialists. Under his leadership, the medical center has earned the Joint Commission’s “Gold Seal of Approval” and “Leader Status” with a perfect score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2024 Healthcare Equality Index. Before his current role, Mr. Walch served as vice president of clinical services and operations at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune City, N.J., where he played a key executive role in developing a $1 billion, 10-year master facility plan and helped secure $35 million in grant funding for campus expansion.
