After six months of search and
interviews, the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics
announced its new leader Wednesday.

Donna Katen-Bahensky has been selected
as the UW Hospital's president and chief executive officer, after
serving as chief executive officer at University of Iowa Hospitals
and Clinics and senior associate vice president for medical affairs
at University of Iowa Health Care since 2002.

The UW Hospital board initially
identified 10 possible candidates at the end of July, eventually
interviewing five, board chairman Pat Boyle said.

Katen-Bahensky was selected as one of
two for a run of callbacks, and was selected for the position after
the second candidate lost interest in the position.

"[Her] most important task is to
maintain the high levels that we have achieved as far as patient
care," Boyle said. "We won several awards recently as an
outstanding hospital in providing quality health care, and we want to
maintain that reputation."

Boyle said the board is extremely happy
with the decision to employ Katen-Bahensky, adding, "she'll fit
into the Wisconsin culture just perfectly."

"She's got an orientation for
patient care and the importance of patient care — she's got an
orientation of the role of the academic medical center and the
utilization of medical sciences in improving patient care," Boyle
said. "She has a flare for working with all kinds of different
people and values employees as being extremely important to the
enterprise."

Katen-Bahensky will replace current
interim CEO Carl Getto, who has led the hospital since September,
when then-CEO Donna Sollenberger left to head the Baylor Clinic and
Hospital in Houston.

"This
is a wonderful opportunity for [Katen-Bahensky], and we offer our
best wishes for the future," University of Iowa President Sally
Mason said in a statement. "We also offer her our thanks for
setting a strong foundation for our future success."

Katen-Bahensky
will have a $600,000 salary and she is expected to start her contract
Feb. 4, 2008.