Kaiser president leaving for Rhode Island job

The president of Kaiser Permanente of Georgia is leaving that position to take the CEO job with Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island.

Peter Andruszkiewicz, the Kaiser president, will replace James Purcell, who is retiring as president and CEO of Rhode Island’s dominant health insurer, according to the Providence Journal.

“Although I’ve enjoyed working for larger organizations in other parts of the country,” Andruszkiewicz said in a statement, “Rhode Island’s size and deep local relationships provide such a unique opportunity to have a real impact on helping people live healthier lives. I grew up just north of Boston, have family in the Providence area, and am really looking forward to coming home to New England.”

Donna Lynne,  Kaiser Permanente’s group president with responsibilities for the health plan’s Colorado, Northwest, Ohio and Georgia markets, will serve as interim president until a national search for a new Georgia president can be completed.

Andruszkiewicz joined Kaiser Permanente in 2005 as vice president of national accounts and was named the Georgia region’s president in 2008.

Kaiser Permanente is the largest nonprofit health plan in Georgia. The California-based organization recently has built up its presence in metro Atlanta by adding 11 new medical clinics in a little more than a year.