Gretchen Nichols - Bay Area Hospital

Gretchen Nichols is the President and CEO of Bay Area Hospital. She was selected for this role, after previously serving as the hospital’s Chief Operating Officer, with executive responsibility for the physician and provider enterprise as well as key service lines such as Cardiology, Orthopedics, Imaging, Pathology, and Cancer. She has over three decades of experience in healthcare, the majority spent in executive leadership. Gretchen has significant experience in strategy development and operational excellence.

Known for increasing operational efficiency, developing collaborative teams, and growing service lines, Gretchen enjoys optimizing organizational performance and increasing the reliability of service delivery. Most recently she led a Level I trauma center as Hospital President in Portland, OR. She has also served as the Hospital President for a community hospital in Gresham, OR, as well as many previous Nursing leadership roles, such as CNO and Director of Nursing across Oregon and California.

Gretchen has a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Cal Poly Humboldt in Arcata, CA, and a master’s in business administration from the University of San Francisco. Gretchen is a collaborative, passionate, results-driven leader who places core emphasis in safety, respect, and efficiency for patients, employees and providers.