Swedish/Cherry Hill CEO Rayburn Lewis, M.D., has been named the new chief executive of Swedish/Issaquah.

He began Feb. 10, replacing retiring Swedish/Issaquah CEO Chuck Salmon.

“I am honored to be charged with the responsibility of leading one of the newest and highest quality hospitals in the entire region,” Lewis said. “Our focus will continue to be on building the strongest, healthiest communities across Issaquah and East King County.”

Lewis, a board-certified internal medicine physician, was medical director for Providence Seattle Medical Center from 1995 to 2002, and was Swedish’s vice president for medical affairs from 2002 to 2007. He also served as medical director of the Mother Joseph Clinic at Swedish Cherry Hill, which provided specialty physician services to uninsured and underinsured patients.

Lewis practiced with the Minor and James Medical Group from 1987 to 1996, and maintained a small, but active practice at the Swedish Family Medicine/Cherry Hill campus residency clinic until 2008.

In 2008, Dr. Lewis began serving as the chief executive for the Ballard campus, culminating in significantly improved financial performance, prior to stepping into the senior vice president/chief operating officer role at Swedish/Cherry Hill.