(Philadelphia, PA) - Garry Scheib, Chief Operating Officer of University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS) and Executive Director of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) was elected as one of seven new members to the American Hospital Association (AHA) Board of Trustees. The Board holds ultimate authority for creating policies, managing finances, and overseeing the direction of the AHA. Scheib's term commences on January 1, 2007, and ends on December 31, 2009. Along with his election to the Board, Scheib will also assume the role of chairman of AHA's Regional Policy Board 2, a group of hospital leaders from New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania focused on analyzing policy proposals and developing appropriate advocacy positions for the hospital industry.

Scheib has been a member of the UPHS leadership team for ten years when he came to UPHS as Executive Director of the Health System’s Office of Network Development, New Jersey Division in 1997. In 1999, he was appointed Executive Director of the Health System’s flagship hospital, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, and then in 2004, Scheib was appointed COO of the UPHS.

Active both nationally and locally, Scheib serves on the boards of The Hospital & Health System Association of Pennsylvania (HAP) and the Delaware Valley Healthcare Council of HAP. He is treasurer of the East Coast board of the Voluntary Hospitals of America. Additionally, he is a member on the board of directors at HUP, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, Pennsylvania Hospital and Wissahickon Hospice.

Scheib obtained both his B.S. and M.B.A from Lehigh University. He resides in Voorhees, New Jersey with his wife Susan and their three children.

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PENN Medicine is a $2.9 billion enterprise dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and high-quality patient care. PENN Medicine consists of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System.

Penn's School of Medicine is ranked #2 in the nation for receipt of NIH research funds; and ranked #3 in the nation in U.S.News & World Report's most recent ranking of top research-oriented medical schools. Supporting 1,400 fulltime faculty and 700 students, the School of Medicine is recognized worldwide for its superior education and training of the next generation of physician-scientists and leaders of academic medicine.

The University of Pennsylvania Health System includes three hospitals, all of which have received numerous national patient-care honors [Hospital of theUniversity of Pennsylvania; Pennsylvania Hospital, the nation's first hospital; and Penn Presbyterian Medical Center]; a faculty practice plan; a primary-care provider network; two multispecialty satellite facilities; and home care and hospice.