A giant among local health care leaders is retiring.

Thomas Priselac, who has helmed Beverly Grove-based Cedars-Sinai Health System for 30 years, announced late last month that he plans to retire. He has agreed to stay on until new chief executive is named and takes over the post.

During his long tenure, Priselac has overseen the transformation of Cedars-Sinai from a prestigious local hospital into a regional hospital powerhouse and research institution.

Priselac began his career at Montefiore Hospital in Pittsburgh and joined Cedars-Sinai in 1979 as an assistant administrator. He served as executive vice president from 1988 to 1993 and was appointed president and chief executive Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in 1994. He has also served as president and chief executive of Cedars-Sinai Health System since its formation in 2017.

Under Priselac’s leadership, Cedars-Sinai expanded the reach of its care across the Los Angeles region through the acquisition of Marina del Rey Hospital, affiliations with Torrance Medical Health and Huntington Health in Pasadena and joint ventures with Providence Tarzana Medical Center and the California Rehabilitation Institute. Cedars has also opened numerous outpatient clinics and other services stretching from Westlake Village to Anaheim.

Priselac also guided the expansion of its main campus in Beverly Grove, helping secure donations to fund several new buildings such as the Advanced Health Sciences Pavilion (now the Suzanne and Ervin Bard Pavilion), a breast health services building and the Saperstein Critical Care Tower. 

Priselac also expanded Cedars’ focus on research and education. There are now more than two dozen specific research centers, ranging from digestive diseases and neural science to the use of artificial intelligence in medicine. A host of residency, fellowship and education programs has also provided training for thousands of physicians and other health care professionals. Under Priselac’s tenure, Cedars established hundreds of partnerships with local community organizations to improve health access for the region’s underserved communities. In 2022, Cedars made more than $1 billion in contributions toward these and other community benefit programs.

“It has been the singular honor of my professional life to work alongside the dedicated staff at this amazing institution,” Priselac said. “Every day, their dedication, expertise, commitment to quality, compassion for our patients and respect for each other have been a powerful inspiration to me, leaving an indelible mark on me professionally and personally and reinforcing the importance of Cedars-Sinai’s mission.”

Cedars-Sinai leaders have paid tribute to Priselac and his skills.

“Tom led Cedars-Sinai through an era of incredible changes in health care, adapting with innovation while always staying true to our mission,” said Larry Platt, Cedars-Sinai Health System’s board chair.