Kevin W. Sowers, a dedicated clinician, educator, and academic healthcare leader who has served as president of the Johns Hopkins Health System and executive vice president of Johns Hopkins Medicine since 2018, has announced plans to retire at the end of 2027.
Image caption: Kevin Sowers
Image credit: Keith Weller
Theodore DeWeese, dean of the medical faculty and CEO of Johns Hopkins Medicine, shared the news of Sowers' retirement in a message to employees today.
"I am deeply grateful to Kevin for the leadership and dedication he has brought to our community," DeWeese wrote. "His commitment to our patients, our people, and all of the communities served by our health system has left a lasting mark.
"After more than 40 years of putting patients first, Kevin has more than earned this next chapter. I am proud of everything he has built here and honored to have him lead this institution."
Sowers began his healthcare career in 1985 as an oncology nurse and assumed successive leadership roles over 32 years with the Duke University Health System, eventually serving the last eight as president and CEO of Duke University Hospital. Upon joining Johns Hopkins, he became the second person to serve in the dual president/executive vice president role, succeeding Ronald R. Peterson, who retired in 2017 after 44 years with Johns Hopkins Medicine.
"Over his decade-long tenure here at Hopkins, Kevin has led our health system with a clarity of vision and conviction of purpose, stewarding our enterprise through an incredibly complex period in medicine and healthcare-all while never losing sight of the patient and the human condition," Johns Hopkins University President Ron Daniels said. "In this commitment, Kevin embodies the best of our tripartite mission here at Hopkins, a leader just as devoted at the bedside as in the classroom or out in the community."
By announcing his retirement plans more than 14 months in advance, Sowers leaves ample time for transition planning and a national search for his successor, which will be led by DeWeese in partnership with the Johns Hopkins Medicine board of trustees. Sowers plans to serve as a senior executive adviser following his retirement to ensure a smooth transition.
"When I joined Johns Hopkins Medicine in 2018, I made a commitment to the organization and to myself to give 10 years of everything I had to this extraordinary place-to the talented, dedicated people who work here, and the people and communities we serve. And I intend to keep that commitment," Sowers said in a video message announcing his retirement plans.
"We have a lot of important work to do together, and I look forward to continuing to work with and learn from colleagues from across our institutions."
In his role, Sowers oversees the health system's six hospitals-the Johns Hopkins Hospital, Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Center, Suburban Hospital, Sibley Memorial Hospital, and Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital, setting the vision-and putting the people, programs, and resources in place-to further its mission to deliver outstanding care, train the next generation of leaders, and advance research and discovery. He also serves as chair of Johns Hopkins Community Physicians, which has more than 40 primary and specialty care outpatient sites throughout Maryland and the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.
His decade-long tenure has been marked by a record of exemplary leadership. He has combined clinical expertise and executive acumen in service of a bold strategic vision to expand the impact of the health system's mission to new communities.
Among his many accomplishments, Sowers skillfully guided the institution through the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, protecting the frontline workforce while sustaining safe, high-quality care for patients. For this, he was one of three individuals honored in 2020 with the Deming Cup from Columbia Business School "in recognition of the critical role the [healthcare] industry and its leaders … played during the crisis."
Sowers also earned the MedChi Public Officer Award and received the Living Legend distinction from the American Academy of Nursing. These honors, DeWeese wrote, "reflect a leader who has given and continues to give to this community far more than his formal responsibilities required."
"Kevin's connection to the communities our health system serves has always run deeper than his title," DeWeese added. "He has championed our patients, our people and the civic life of Baltimore and every community we serve with the same energy he has brought to the work inside our hospitals."
Plans for celebrations honoring Sowers and his distinguished career will be shared at a later date.
