Dr. Marc Gorelick, president and chief executive officer of Children’s Minnesota, retire in July, capping a 42-year career in pediatric medicine and seven years of advocating for progressive causes at the Minnesota State Capitol.
Dr. Marc Gorelick, president and chief executive officer of Children’s Minnesota, announced Jan. 23, 2025 he will retire in July 2025. (Courtesy of Children’s Minnesota)
The nonprofit health system runs two pediatric hospitals in St. Paul and Minneapolis, as well as a variety of clinics and specialty centers metro-wide, including locations in Hugo, Lakeville, Roseville, West St. Paul, Woodbury and other suburbs throughout the west metro.
Gorelick joined Children’s Minnesota in March 2017 as chief operating officer before transitioning to CEO later that year. In a written statement, board members praised his investments in technology, operations and workforce development, and his leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He is the author of the book “Saving Our Kids: An ER Doc’s Common-Sense Solution to the Gun Crisis,” and led the hospital’s efforts at the state Capitol to help pass multiple laws aimed at improving health equity for children, including free school meal options for all students, a ban on hair discrimination and an effort to make Minnesota a “trans refugee” state.
Community health initiative
During his tenure, the health system launched the Children’s Minnesota Collective for Community Health, which works with community organizations to address everyday “social determinants” of health. Outpatient and ambulatory services expanded to more than a dozen locations across the Twin Cities metro, and the health system embarked on a $40 million capital campaign to add new inpatient and outpatient mental health programs in St. Paul, Lakeville and Roseville.
“Kids are facing truly unprecedented mental health crises,” said Gorelick in November 2022, at the unveiling for a new 22-bed inpatient mental health unit in downtown St. Paul.
Children’s Minnesota was named one of Modern Healthcare Magazine’s “Top Diversity Leaders in 2023” for the executive leadership team’s efforts to promote diversity among its own ranks and within the health system’s general workforce. Gorelick appointed a Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer early in his tenure, and Children’s is a founding member of the Minnesota Business Coalition for Racial Equity.
Last May, Children’s Minnesota announced it was the first pediatric-only health system in the country to offer on-demand work shifts to local healthcare providers, allowing nurses to review available shifts online and sign up for their preferred date and time.
Career background
Gorelick was previously executive vice president and chief operating officer of Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. He has also held faculty positions at the Medical College of Wisconsin and the University of Pennsylvania. He holds an undergraduate degree in history from Princeton University, a medical degree from Duke University, and a Master of Science in Clinical Epidemiology from the University of Pennsylvania.
His medical training includes a pediatrics residency at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and a fellowship in pediatric emergency medicine at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
In a written statement, the Children’s Minnesota board of directors indicated it has begun a “comprehensive search” for his successor and will work closely with him in the transition. He intends to lead the organization until his successor in place, they said.
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