President and Chief Executive Officer
“Every hospital has a story. Ours has always been one of hope, of rejuvenation, of affirmation that people in this community and every community all deserve the same access to high quality healthcare. We are focused on seeing and treating the whole person. We exist to ensure dignity for every person. This mission, in this part of Chicago, is essential and I feel a tremendous sense of duty to help St. Bernard carry it forward for decades.”
Charles “Chuck” Holland is President and Chief Executive Officer of St. Bernard Hospital, an independent, Catholic safety-net community hospital that proudly serves residents of the Englewood neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side. Mr. Holland assumed leadership of the hospital on January 1, 2013. He has served in various leadership roles at the hospital since 1998. He sits on the hospital’s Board of Trustees, and in May 2019 he was designated as a representative for the Congregation of the Religious Hospitallers of St. Joseph with Catholic Health Partners/Catholic Health International, the sponsor of St. Bernard Hospital.
Since joining the leadership team of St. Bernard Hospital in 1998, Mr. Holland has been instrumental in building the stature of the hospital as a force in stabilizing the neighborhood and addressing the needs of its underserved residents. He led the hospital’s 77 home affordable housing project, Bernard Place, which won the prestigious Richard H. Driehaus Award for Outstanding Non-profit Neighborhood Real Estate Project in 2004. He guided the development of pivotal programs such as the Pediatric Mobile Health Unit and the St. Bernard Hospital Dental Center. As the leader of St. Bernard’s strategic planning efforts, Mr. Holland led the Senior Management Team in the development of the hospital’s state-of-the-art Ambulatory Care Center, which opened in 2016.
Mr. Holland takes an active role in advancing a culture of safety at St. Bernard. Under his leadership, the hospital improved its rating to an A grade in patient safety practices from an F in only two years. Also, the hospital has attracted critical donations of improved technology to advance patient safety and quality.
An unwavering advocate for health equity, Mr. Holland chairs the board of the Center for Better Aging at St. Bernard Hospital, a Healthcare Transformation Collaborative focused on the needs of older adults. He also sits on the board of the South Side Healthy Community Organization, a comprehensive transformation project that aims to improve patients’ access to care and enhance coordination among local providers.
Mr. Holland earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Akron, and a Master of Arts degree in Social Service Administration from the University of Chicago and in Health Law from Loyola University, Chicago. In 2011 he completed the Ministerial Leadership Preparation Program of the Francis Cardinal George Center for Ministerial Development, a program designed to prepare lay leaders to assume leadership of Catholic healthcare organizations.
