November 22, 2005
Janet Porter named Dana-Farber executive vice president and chief operating officer
University leader and former hospital COO to join cancer institute in January
Janet Elaine Porter, PhD
Janet Elaine Porter, an associate dean at the University of North Carolina's School of Public Health, has been named executive vice president and chief operating officer at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
Porter, 52, who previously served for nine years as the COO of Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, will oversee the daily operations of the renowned cancer research and treatment center. She will work closely with collaborating hospitals to help manage administration of the Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center and Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Care, which provide care to adult and pediatric patients, respectively. She will also join the leadership team of Dana-Farber/Partners CancerCare, a joint venture with Partners HealthCare.
"Janet has exactly the experience and personal qualities that we have been looking for," said Edward J. Benz, Jr., MD, president of Dana-Farber, a Harvard-affiliated teaching hospital and research institute. "She brings a wonderful mix of practical, hands-on experience as a COO of a major hospital, a track record as a highly respected academic leader, and a personal style of leadership that will make her highly successful here."
"We are very pleased to welcome Janet and her husband, Jim, to the Dana-Farber community and look forward to her start here on January 16," he added.
At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's (UNC) School of Public Health, Porter has developed an executive education team that designs and delivers customized leadership development programs to over 1,100 professionals annually. She is also an active consultant to hospitals and health systems on leadership and management issues. Prior to joining the UNC faculty, she served as interim president and CEO of the Association of University Programs in Health Administration.
"For five years, I have been using Dana-Farber as a case study to teach about quality patient care and leadership and stewardship," Porter said. "It is incredibly exciting for me to have the opportunity to work with the Dana-Farber team to advance its goal of becoming the nation's model cancer center."
In 1988, Porter joined Children's Hospital, Inc. in Columbus, which includes a 313-bed teaching hospital, a research center and the nation's largest pediatric ambulatory program. As chief operating officer, she significantly expanded ambulatory programs and visits; built and renovated medical facilities and established community diagnostic centers and primary care clinics; and established a major pediatric home care organization. She also taught strategic management in the graduate program in health administration at Ohio State University.
Porter is active nationally speaking, consulting, writing and serving on boards on leadership development in healthcare and public health. She has been a commissioner for the Commission on Accreditation in Healthcare Management Education, a board member of the National Center for Healthcare Leadership, and a board member of the Council on Linkages between Public Health and Academia, the Health Policy Issues Group and the Foster McGaw Committee for the American Hospital Association. She sits on several editorial boards and writes "The Management Moment," a regular column for the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice.
Porter received her BS and MHA degrees from Ohio State University and her MBA and PhD degrees in healthcare strategy from University of Minnesota. In 2002, Porter received a Distinguished Alumna Award from Ohio State University.
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is a principal teaching affiliate of the Harvard Medical School and is among the leading cancer research and care centers in the United States. It is a founding member of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center (DF/HCC), designated a comprehensive cancer center by the National Cancer Institute.
