Pawtucket, RI – The Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island (MHRI)  has named  Martin E. Tursky  president and chief executive officer effective October 1, 2011. Tursky succeeds current President and CEO Francis R. Dietz who will be retiring after serving at the helm of the hospital for 47 years.

Tursky was recruited, after a nationwide search in 2010, to serve as Memorial’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. Over the past year he has been working closely with Mr. Dietz and the existing administration.

Prior to coming to Memorial Hospital as Chief Operating Officer in 2010, Tursky had a vast array of accomplishments that span over a decade at Aultman Hospital in Canton, Ohio.  Aultman Hospital is a $900 million health system with 5,000 employees.  While there Tursky served as Vice President, Chief Information Officer, Vice President of Support Services and Vice President of the institution’s Heart Center.  Credited with improving performance and expanding systems at Aultman, Tursky pioneered efforts to enhance and  develop Heart and Vascular services and was instrumental in earning the hospital national recognition for its quality patient services.

“The trustees of Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island are very pleased to announce the promotion of Martin Tursky to CEO of the hospital.” said William Hunt, chairman MHRI Board of Trustees. "We have worked with Martin for the last 18 months in his position as COO and are confident he will do an excellent job.”

Tursky attended The United States Military Academy at West Point where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering Management. Later he obtained his Master of Business Administration at  Ohio State University in Columbus.

“Memorial Hospital is a valuable community resource that delivers high quality care and I look forward to working with the staff here to create opportunities for growth,” Tursky said. “The hospital has a very strong foundation. Today as community hospitals are facing a challenging health care market, we’ll be working to gain additional resources to reinvest in the hospital while also building on our new clinical affiliation with Brigham and Women’s Hospital to further enhance the quality of services for our patients.”