Back to articles

President Kathy Raethel, Announces Upcoming Retirement

News

After modeling leadership excellence for more than 45 years, Kathy Raethel has announced she will be retiring from her role as president of Adventist Health Castle on March 26, 2021.

Kathy joined the Castle executive team in 2000 as the vice president of patient care and has served as president since 2011. During her tenure, Adventist Health Castle earned numerous quality and care awards, including the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in 2017.

“When I first came to Castle back in June 2000, I sensed how special this place was. Throughout my 20 years here, I have fallen in love with our organization and the associates, physicians and volunteers who are such an integral part of what we do,” Raethel said. “I am most proud of the stories I hear on a daily basis of the ways we have made a difference in the lives of the patients we serve.”

Ryan Ashlock, operations executive at Adventist Health Castle, explains that, “Kathy’s contributions to our medical center have ensured that we can offer comprehensive, complex, quality care to our community. Her leadership has guided us to receiving national recognition, like the Baldrige Award and the Lown Institute’s ranking of Adventist Health Castle as 6th of 3,359 hospitals in the nation (1st of 10 in Hawaii) based on patient outcomes (https://lownhospitalsindex.org/rankings/?sortBy=Outcome).” Ashlock continues, “Her impact on Castle will continue for years to come, as we develop our Hawaii Loa campus and expand services to better care for our community.”

“Kathy has set the standard for missional leadership, and she will be greatly missed,” said Andrew Jahn, Adventist Health Care Division president. “Through her compassion, authenticity and top-box results, she has shown us all that love matters.”