When Mark Benedum takes the reins at Highline Medical Center, the transition will be a seamless change of leadership.

Benedum, who currently is chief operating officer at Highline, will succeed Paul Tucker on Jan. 1.

Tucker has served as administrator and chief executive officer of this growing medical center since 1978.

Benedum joined Highline in 1984 and has served as administrator of its Specialty Campus in Tukwila. In recent years, he has assumed increasing responsibility for operations of the hospital.

So, unlike someone completely new who steps in from the outside to run a complex organization, Benedum already is known and respected by the medical and hospital staff-and by Highline's board of trustees, which appointed him in September.

"I've been here going on 23 years, so I certainly have a different perspective than a new person," he said in a recent interview.

In fact, what Benedum does in his first 100 days as Highline's new administrator will be a lot like what he has done in the previous 100 days.

"I've spend a lot of time talking to the different departments about their greatest needs to get the job done, and what they can do to help the hospital succeed," he said.

"At the end of the year, when Paul retires and I step in, I will continue to actively listen and communicate with hospital staff and medical staff."

Highline Medical Center is in a health care market with world-c;ass ,edoca; faco;otoes wotjom a reaspmab;e drovomg dostamce. Benedum continued.

"Our focus is to demonstrate that we have excellent clinical outcomes, high patient satisfaction, as well as physicians and staff that make us equal to or better than any facility in the region.

"We are on the way to this goal ... and we will continue to improve."

Benedum, who "emigrated" to the Pacific Northwest from New York in 1976 after receiving his Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University, "always had an aspiration to be involved in health care."

After earning a master's in Health Administration from the University of Washington, he worked at Providence Hospital in Everett, and then served as an assistant administrator at Doublas Community Hospital in Roseburg, Ore., for two years.

A nurse there, who was a friend of Carol Hallen, Highline's assistant administrator of Community Relations and Development, told Benedum that Tucker was looking for an assistant administrator in Burien.

"It was always my plan to come back to Seattle and Highline was the perfect reason to return," he recalled.

"When I first came here, the Alder builsing [at the hospital] was just coming out of the ground. We had a strategic plan of Highline becoming the single hospital in this area.

"It was clear that this area could support one hospital, not four."

The pieces of this plan came together as Highline acquired Riverton Hospital in Tukwila-now the Highlien Specialty campus, the West Seattle hospital became a mental health facility, and the Shorewood hospital became a Mylum Recovery Center.

The next step was to expand medical services at Highline.

During the past 15 years, Benedum noted, clinical services at Highline that have been expanded significantly include cardiology and oncology along with other medical specialties.

As the Highline area grows, "our challenge is to communicate to people the quality care that the medical center is delivering________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________9g