Photo Caption: Bradley Solberg (pictured) will succeed David Ochs, who served as as president of the Pontiac-based medical center for 26 years.

PONTIAC — With the new year comes a transition in leadership at OSF Saint James — John W. Albrecht Medical Center, with Bradley Solberg succeeding David T. Ochs as president. Solberg will begin his new duties on Jan. 5.
Ochs, who announced his retirement in June, completed his 26-year tenure on Dec. 31.

Solberg comes to OSF HealthCare from Hammond-Henry Hospital in Geneseo, where he had served as CEO since 2001. He is credited with overseeing $34 million in construction projects, which resulted in a virtual replacement of the hospital.

As president of OSF Saint James — John W. Albrecht Medical Center, Solberg will direct all internal operations while working to develop and implement strategies to provide high quality and cost-effective health care.

Solberg toured the Pontiac medical center when it opened in 2002 and said he would never forget how impressed he was. “To now have the opportunity to lead it and be a part of OSF is quite an honor.”

His experience includes serving as the CEO for Select Specialty Hospital in Youngstown, Ohio; COO for Park Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio; CEO for Three Rivers Area Hospital in Three Rivers, Michigan; and administrator for two hospitals in the Lutheran Health Systems, now Banner Health. He has been a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives since 1995, with Fellow Status dating from 2003.

Solberg was on the Geneseo Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors for seven years and served as its president for two of them. In 2014, he was recognized by “Becker’s Hospital Review” as one of the “50 Rural Hospital CEOs to Know.”

Ochs came to OSF Saint James Hospital as its administrator on May 16, 1988. Over the next 26 years he would oversee construction of the current medical center, the creation of a multidisciplinary physical rehabilitation center, expansion of inpatient and outpatient surgery services, the establishment of OSF Medical Group primary care and specialist clinics throughout Livingston County, and the growth of a state-honored emergency medical services system.

Born and raised in Peoria, Ochs served in the finance department at Mennonite Hospital in Bloomington and was in administration at Eureka Hospital and St. Elizabeth Hospital in Danville before joining OSF Saint James.