Emerson Hospital’s Board Chair Retires After 21 Years of Service


5/23/2016

Emerson Hospital announced today that John M. Lowe III, Ph.D., has retired from his 21 years of service on the Emerson Hospital Board of Directors, including serving as Chair of the Board from 2006-2011.  Dr. Lowe will continue to serve Emerson Hospital as a Corporator. Corporators are ambassadors of Emerson and represent the health interests of their communities.

Dr. Lowe began his tenure with Emerson as a Board Member in 1995.  In 2006, he  was appointed Board Chair with a vision to strengthen the leadership role and the capabilities of the board to make an even greater impact on the patients and communities served by Emerson Hospital.

“I was honored to work with John during a time of major transformation at Emerson Hospital,” said Christine Schuster, president and CEO. “With his keen leadership, and steadfast focus on doing what is right for patients, Emerson grew significantly into the hospital-of-choice that it is today. A remarkable person, trusted advisor, and admired leader, John’s extraordinary insights and ideas have made a tremendous impact on everyone at Emerson – patients, families, staff and all who live in the 25 towns that Emerson serves. I congratulate John on his well-deserved retirement from the Board and look forward to continuing our work together in his role as Corporator.”

From the beginning of his tenure as Emerson’s Board Chair, Dr. Lowe worked closely with Christine Schuster who was then the newly-appointed president and CEO, to build a strong culture of collaborative governance.  Dr. Lowe’s consistent emphasis on board education, self-assessment, goal-setting and team building transformed the culture of the board.  Under his leadership, Emerson achieved very aggressive quality patient safety goals.

“The community has a true gem in Emerson Hospital,” said Dr. Lowe. “Through my work over two decades with the leadership team, and my own, and my family’s use of the hospital for our medical care, I am continually impressed with what I see and experience from the Emerson community. I was humbled to serve as Board Chair and help Emerson become a leading hospital despite many challenging times in the health care industry. I look forward to continuing to serve Emerson as a Corporator and know that it will maintain and even grow its extremely positive reputation in the community.”

Dr. Lowe is currently Associate Professor and Associate Dean in the School of Management at Simmons College. A graduate of Duke University, he earned his Master's in Health Services Administration from The Ohio State University, and his Ph.D. in Public Policy Analysis from the University of Illinois at Chicago.  He was Chair of the Association of University Programs in Health Administration and a member of the Massachusetts Hospital Association board of Directors.  He received the Trustee of the Year award from the Massachusetts Hospital Association in 2013. Dr. Lowe is a long-time resident of Concord, Massachusetts.

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Emerson Hospital is a multi-site health system headquartered in Concord, Mass., with additional facilities in Sudbury, Groton and Westford. The 179-bed hospital provides advanced medical services to more than 300,000 individuals in 25 towns. To learn more, visit www.emersonhosp.org.