Peter Banko
Peter D. Banko, vice president and chief operating officer at Christus Spohn Health System in Corpus Christi, Texas, has been named the new president and chief executive officer of St. Vincent Health System in Little Rock. He will take over the position April 2.
Banko, who joined Christus Spohn in 2003, was responsible for leading two hospital campuses, residency and teaching programs affiliated with Texas A&M in College Station, a cancer center affiliated with M.D. Anderson in Houston, regional outpatient care network and a physician network.
Banko is credited with the financial turn-around at Christus Spohn in three years – from an $8.5 million operating loss to an $11.9 million operating profit.
St. Vincent is beginning a nearly $40 million expansion and renovation project.
Banko said the physicians, nurses and other employees are the heart of any hospital.
“St. Vincent has been a fixture for the community and weathered many challenges for almost 120 years for one reason – its people,” he said. “Meeting the people at St. Vincent – from the board to medical staff to leadership team to front-line staff – inspired us to move to Little Rock and take on this new challenge.”
Banko is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration, and Cornell University, where he earned a master’s degree in health administration. He was, most recently, awarded the inaugural Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce Under 40 Leader of the Year in 2006.
Banko and his wife Elizabeth have three children, ranging from 5 to 12 years old, and a baby due in mid-March. They plan to join Christ the King Church in Little Rock when they arrive in Arkansas.
