Chamber Luncheon: David Jaffe

Chief Executive, Swedish/Edmonds

David Jaffe was named interim chief administrative officer of Swedish/Edmonds Hospital, Edmonds, WA, effective June 1, 2011, and accepted the permanent appointment to the position on April 8, 2012.  Since his arrival at Swedish/Edmonds, he has been instrumental in building bridges with the community, and in moving the Hospital forward with the start of a $63.5M new Ambulatory Center, including a new Emergency Facility.

Jaffe retired from his position as Executive Director/CEO of Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, a level I Trauma Center serving a 5 state region, after 16 years. He is also a retired clinical associate professor in the University of Washington’s Graduate School for Public Health and Community Medicine. Prior to Harborview, Jaffe was the chief operating officer at Nassau County Medical Center in Long Island, N.Y., a 615-bed Level I trauma center.

Under Jaffe’s leadership at Harborview, one major capital project totaling $179 million was successfully completed, and another, a $440 million project, was completed on the heels of his retirement. Throughout his tenure, Harborview’s reputation for quality and excellence grew appreciably in the local community, as well as nationally. In addition, the fiscal health and viability of Harborview, including its reserves, along with philanthropic contributions, increased markedly.
Jaffe has served on the Boards of a number of start-up companies, as well as on the Boards and executive committees of the Council of Teaching Hospitals, the University Health Systems Consortium, the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education, the National Association of Public Hospitals, the Washington State Hospital Association, Airlift Northwest, the Medic One Foundation, and the American Hospital Association’s (AHA) Committee on Health Professions. Jaffe was one of the original founding Board members of the National Association for Trauma Care.  He was instrumental in working with Senator Patty Murray in the passing of national trauma legislation benefiting trauma centers across the country. Jaffe currently serves on the Board of the Trauma Centers Association of America, formerly the National Foundation for Trauma Care, as an Emeritus member, having previously served as its chair.

Jaffe has also testified before the Sub-committee on Health of the House Ways and Means Committee on behalf of the AHA and its 5,000 member hospitals, and has appeared on the cover of Washington CEO Magazine.