Workplace learning at heart of new post
Health care organizational learning and leadership development expert Peter Giammalvo, Ph.D., has been appointed to the newly created position of chief learning officer at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Giammalvo, formerly vice president for leadership formation at Catholic Health East in Pennsylvania, will begin work next week.
“Peter will provide overall leadership for organizational development and workplace learning,” said Harry Jacobson, M.D., vice chancellor for Health Affairs. “He will lead efforts to build organizational learning and development strategies, direct the staff of the Learning Center, coordinate the learning objectives of elevate, describe leadership competencies and improve organization performance through workplace organization development and learning programs.”
David Posch, chief operating officer for Vanderbilt Medical Group, led the search committee.
“We've reached a critical point in the development of our organization, with a broader set of organizational goals now in place and with increased focus on service and quality,” Posch said. “In Peter Giammalvo, we've found the organizational learning expert with the skills and experience to help us build on current improvement efforts and to help groups throughout VUMC achieve new levels of performance. I'm very pleased that Peter is joining us.”
With headquarters in Newtown Square, Penn., and facilities in 11 East Coast states, Catholic Health East is a health care network with 45,000 employees and an annual budget of $5.5 billion. Giammalvo became vice president for leadership formation in 2000, after executive stints at Holy Cross Health System Corporation, based in South Bend, Ind., and at Saint Thomas Hospital in Nashville, where he worked from 1977 to 1990.
“I'm very pleased to accept this exciting new role at one of our nation's leading academic medical centers,” Giammalvo said. “The opportunity exists today of bringing patient care delivery at VUMC to a new level, commensurate with the Medical Center's cutting-edge programs in research and education and with the high distinction garnered for Vanderbilt by an outstanding medical staff. I eagerly look forward to contributing to efforts to strengthen and improve all areas of VUMC.”
Giammalvo's office will be located in the Learning Center.