Dr. Jack Cochran on Healers as Leaders

The namesake of the annual Cochran Scholarship at Saint Joseph Hospital, Dr. Jack Cochran senses both an opportunity and a duty to give — inside and outside the operating room. Whether addressing the shortage of nurses, leading physician performance improvement, shaping bipartisan healthcare policy or inspiring healers to give back, he’s brought a sense of mission to everything he does.

He practiced plastic and reconstructive surgery for 26 years at Saint Joe’s, where he was chief of surgery, and he served as president and chair of Colorado Permanente Medical Group and as CEO of the national Permanente organization. Modern Healthcare named him one of the Fifty Most Influential Physician Executives in Healthcare in 2009, 2010 and 2012.

But it was two deeply moving episodes in his personal life — the passing of his father and then his mother at Lutheran Hospital — that first inspired him to give back. When he saw — as a son, not as a doctor — the nurses and other staff as the “angels” who care for patients and their families, he created the Cochran Award — an annual endowed scholarship that provides advanced education in nursing.

As Dr. Cochran sees it, a physician should partner with organizations like Saint Joseph Hospital to find ways to make the greatest impact. “Doctors should give back,” he says. “They’re in a position to continue giving in any way that works for them.” Dr. Cochran found that he could make the greatest impact with an estate gift.

As you consider your legacy, and if you’d like to honor the ways Saint Joseph Hospital has impacted your life, please contact Office of Gift Planning at 303.812.6478 or sclhealth.plannedgiving@imail.org.