Roger E. Seaver

Our President and CEO for the Last 22 Years

This month we bid farewell to Roger Seaver, our President and CEO for the last 22 years and a leader in the healthcare industry for more than 50 years.

Roger was appointed Henry Mayo President and CEO on April 1, 2001.   He joined Henry Mayo during an especially challenging time for the hospital.  Under his skill and steady leadership Henry Mayo emerged from that period a much stronger and better healthcare institution.   And that was only the beginning.  Roger has a long list of accomplishments during his time at the helm here.  Here is a partial list:

• The Sheila R. Veloz Breast Center
• The Roberta G. Veloz Cardiac Cath Lab
• Construction of a corridor connecting the main hospital with the pavilion
• The relocation and expansion of the Wayne and Connie Spears Intensive Care Unit
• Expansion of the Emergency Department
• Designation of Henry Mayo as an Advanced Primary Stroke Center
• The Kim and Steven Ullman Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
• Designation of Henry May as a STEMI Heart Attack Receiving Center
• Wound Care Services including hyperbaric medicine
• Construction of two new parking structures
• Construction of the Henry Mayo Center

Many of the expansions and new service lines at Henry Mayo were initiated through lead gifts by generous community philanthropists. Roger is also a major Henry Mayo supporter, donating annually and to every campaign undertaken by the Foundation. He led by example in all aspects of his career.

Of course, Roger also oversaw the 2019 opening of our beautiful new patient tower, with its 90 private rooms, our new Center for Women and Newborns, and a much-needed new cafeteria.  Under construction now is a new surgical center on the first floor. 

It’s probably going too far to say Roger can predict the future, but the timing of the new patient tower opening, coming as it did five months before the start of the pandemic, couldn’t have been more fortunate.  The extra bed capacity was critical in helping us care for our community during the pandemic.

Throughout his tenure Roger has continuously pushed for quality improvements in our hospital.  And he hasn’t limited this push to Henry Mayo.  He has been actively involved in health care policy advocacy, including advocating for transparency in comparative reporting — including reporting on quality and patient safety measurements — as a means of helping hospitals improve the care they deliver.

The famous business leader Warren Buffett once said, “Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”  The many seeds Roger began sowing here when he arrived 22 years ago are sprouting, and will continue to grow and thrive for many years, all to the benefit of our hospital, and our community.

Thank you Roger.  We wish you and Rizalina a happy and fulfilling retirement.