Dominican Hospital to share a new president with Redwood City’s Sequoia Hospital

Starting Monday, Dominican Hospital will share a new president, Christine McSweeney, with a hospital in Redwood City, located 47 miles north of Santa Cruz. 

Both hospitals are part of CommonSpirit Health, which is one of the largest nonprofit hospital chains in the country. 

McSweeney’s appointment represents a departure from the previous leadership structure in which Dominican Hospital’s president/chief executive officer leads only that hospital full-time. Dominican’s president, Dr. Nanette Mickiewicz, announced her retirement late last fall after overseeing the hospital for nearly 20 years. Prior to her tenure as president, Mickiewicz was chief medical officer for more than six years. 

McSweeney comes to the region after serving as president of Holy Cross Hospital-Jordan Valley and West Valley in West Jordan, Utah, since 2023. She has more than a decade of health care administration experience, earning a master’s degree in business administration at Arizona State University, and is a fellow at the American College of Healthcare Executives.

“I am honored and excited to join Dignity Health’s California Region and lead these two distinguished hospitals,” McSweeney said in a statement. “I am deeply committed to continuing the excellent work already underway at both facilities and working collaboratively with our dedicated caregivers, staff, and the communities we serve.”

Since 1988, Dominican Hospital has been part of Catholic Healthcare West, which became Dignity Health in 2012. In 2019, the nonprofit health care chain merged with Catholic Health Initiatives to form CommonSpirit Health. BJ Predum, Central Coast market president for Dignity Health, said the hospitals are “incredibly fortunate” to welcome McSweeney. 

“Christine’s exceptional leadership, commitment to quality, and ability to foster strong teams make her the ideal person to guide Sequoia and Dominican Hospitals forward,” Predum said in a statement. 

McSweeney will be taking the reins of Dominican at a challenging time, with rising costs and staffing concerns. 

Crystal Crafton, chief nurse representative with the union representing the hospital’s nurses, raised those concerns but said nurses are eager to meet her.   

“As our patients know very well,” Crafton said, “Dominican has longstanding issues with understaffing, poor retention, and limited hospital capacity for our growing community. 

“We hope Ms. McSweeney recognizes the value and expertise of the nurses and the medical staff at Dominican and uses her leadership role to address these patient safety issues.”

Dominican Hospital’s CommonSpirit spokesperson, Christine McMurry, declined to answer several questions about the hire, including whether McSweeney will live in Santa Cruz and how she’ll recruit new doctors. 

“Since Ms. McSweeney is not yet serving as the CEO, I do not have additional information to share at this time,” McMurry said via email.