New Ascension St. Joe's President: She's No Stranger To Joliet

JOLIET, IL — Barbara Martin will be joining Ascension Illinois as the president of Ascension Saint Joseph – Joliet effective Monday, March 11. She will be in charge of turning around one of the most troubled hospital locations in Illinois, as evidenced by the numerous union nursing strikes and a recent lawsuit filed at the Will County Courthouse against Martin's new employer.

“We are excited about the wealth of experience and knowledge Barbara brings to this role,” said Polly Davenport, Ascension Illinois senior vice president and ministry market CEO, in this week's press release. “With years of leadership experience in the Chicagoland area, she’s no stranger to Saint Joseph – Joliet. She is a member of the local community and well-connected with community leaders and organizations. In fact, one of her first leadership roles was as the vice president, hospital operations and ambulatory services with this hospital when it was part of Provena Health. ”

Martin was working as an independent contractor, and she had served as chief administrative officer/chief executive officer with Community First Medical Center in Chicago.

Prior to that, she was the president and CEO for West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park. There, she was successful in leading a financial turnaround, overseeing the implementation of a robotic surgery program and facilitating several affiliations with UI Health, according to Ascension Illinois.

Her prior experience includes 14 years in executive leadership roles with Vista Health System in Waukegan as well as serving as the chief operating officer for Saint Therese Medical Center in Waukegan, which had also been part of the former Provena Health.

In November, Joliet Patch reported that Martin's predecessor, Christopher Shride, as president of Ascension Saint Joseph in Joliet, failed to last two years on the job. Shride was a nearly invisible presence in the Joliet community. He did not make his presence known at Joliet City Council meetings and at major community festivals and events such as Light Up the Holidays Parade.

St. Joe's remained embroiled at its highest levels of turmoil and employee tensions while Shride ran the hospital in 2022 and 2023. In August, Mayor Terry D'Arcy announced that he was siding with the St. Joe's hospital nurses, not the upper management, during the second of what turned out to be third labor strikes.

According to the press release announcing Martin's hiring, Ascension Saint Joseph – Joliet is part of Ascension Illinois. Serving Illinois since 1868, Ascension Illinois operates 15 hospitals and more than 115 sites of care. The organization includes more than 14,900 associates and 4,250 affiliated providers. Visit ascension.org/illinois.