President and Chief Executive Officer

Catherine Fickes brings more than 25 years of experience in health care administration, including significant experience in non-profit financial turnarounds.  Fickes comes to St. Vincent Medical Center directly from Cambio Health Solutions, where she held the CEO role in several health systems. Fickes served as interim CEO for Daniel Freeman Hospitals in Los Angeles, where she led the turnaround and business development of two hospitals that were part of the Carondelet Health System. As CEO of Carraway Methodist Health System in Birmingham, Alabama, and as Chief Implementation Officer of St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center in Reno, Nevada, Fickes successfully guided the development and implementation of financial improvement plans.

In addition to her health system responsibilities, Fickes has spent considerable time working with international healthcare organizations to provide medical services to the underserved population in Nicaragua.

Fickes holds a master’s degree in health care administration, a bachelor’s degree in business administration and an associate’s degree in nursing. She is a registered nurse in California.