Contact:

Maureen Curran Kleinman

Marketing and Communications

(201) 291-6310

mcurran@valleyhealth.com

Ridgewood, NJ – March 4, 2009 – Peter Diestel, a resident of Allendale, has been promoted to Chief Operating Officer at The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood. In addition to his new role, Peter will continue to serve as Senior Vice President – Administration. In his expanded role Peter will oversee all the day-to-day operations of The Valley Hospital.  Peter joined Valley in 1994 as Vice President - Administration and has overseen many clinical, administrative and support departments, as well as key functions, such as technology and space assessment and the operations group. He also served for a number of years as Vice President - Practice Management for Valley Health System and as President of Valley Health Medical Group. 

More recently Peter was instrumental in establishing the highly successful Ridgewood Academy for Health Professions, which has been designated as a “Model Academy” by the National Career Academy Coalition .  The Academy, a collaborative program developed by Ridgewood High School in partnership with The Valley Hospital and Bergen Community College, is geared toward students interested in pursuing a career in the health and medical fields. Peter received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Vermont and a Master of Public Health from The Columbia University School of Public Health.