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Former Rochester Mayo Clinic CEO Joins Blue Cross Board of Directors

Posted on: Monday, 16 July 2007, 18:03 CDT

EAGAN, Minn., July 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Hugh C. Smith, M.D., former chair of the Mayo Clinic Rochester Board of Governors (CEO), has been elected to the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota (Blue Cross) board of directors. Blue Cross operates under the guidance of the board which oversees the organization's work as a nonprofit health service plan corporation.

Smith has 34 years of career experience with Mayo Clinic, including having previously served as CEO of the clinic, where he directed more than 2,000 doctors and scientists and 30,000 employees. He has also served in several other leadership roles, including director of the cardiac laboratory, vice president of Mayo Foundation, board member of Mayo Clinic Board of Trustees, and medical director of Mayo Medical Services, Inc. -- Mayo Clinic's health plan and contracting department. Smith is currently a professor of Internal Medicine and Cardiology at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, specializing in cardiovascular research, education, and practice.

"Hugh's experience as a physician and business leader is an extremely valuable addition to our board of directors," said Mark W. Banks, M.D., CEO of Blue Cross. "His experience and his dedication to patient care and service will add an important dimension to our board."

Smith is a founding board member of two Minnesota organizations that focus on multi-system health care, quality and safety: the Institute of Clinical Systems Integration and Safest in America, involving 10 Twin Cities and Rochester hospital systems. He is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Hormel Foods, the Board of Trustees of Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center and The University of Manitoba Development Board.

Smith graduated from Manitoba Medical School with Bachelor of Science and Medical Doctor degrees. He received his internal medicine training at the University of Manitoba and completed his cardiovascular research and clinical training at the University of Washington and the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine. He has published more than 120 papers and an equal number of review articles, text chapters and editorial commentaries.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, with headquarters in the St. Paul suburb of Eagan, was chartered in 1933 as Minnesota's first health plan and continues to carry out its charter mission today: to promote a wider, more economical and timely availability of health services for the people of Minnesota. A not-for-profit, taxable organization, Blue Cross is the largest health plan based in Minnesota, covering 2.6 million members in Minnesota and nationally through its health plans or plans administered by its affiliated companies. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, headquartered in Chicago. Go to http://www.bluecrossmn.com/ to learn more about Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota

CONTACT: Yena Phillips of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota,+1-651-662-1443; or Pamela Lux of APR, +1-651-662-3959, for Blue Cross andBlue Shield of Minnesota

Web site: http://www.bluecrossmn.com/

Source: PRNewswire

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