SEATTLE, Oct. 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Seattle Children's today announced the appointment of Dr. Christopher Longhurst as its next chief executive officer, effective Jan. 5, 2026. The Seattle Children's Hospital Board of Trustees selected Longhurst after conducting a yearlong national search.

"Choosing a CEO is one of the board's most important responsibilities. Dr. Longhurst's unique ability to merge clinical operations, research and digital strategy, while enhancing patient safety and quality makes him the right leader to guide Seattle Children's into the future," said Kurt Shintaffer, chair of the Seattle Children's Hospital Board of Trustees. "His visionary leadership, deep clinical expertise, commitment to health equity and proven record of innovation will strengthen Seattle Children's mission to serve children and families across the region and beyond."

Longhurst is widely recognized as a national leader in healthcare. A practicing pediatrician and West Coast native, Longhurst currently serves as chief clinical and innovation officer at UC San Diego Health, where he spent the last decade after 15 years at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford.

"Seattle Children's has an extraordinary legacy of care, research and advocacy for kids and families, and it will be a true honor to serve and lead this world-class team to advance Children's mission," Longhurst said. "As a pediatrician, I understand the important role children's hospitals play in our future health and look forward to learning from our teams and leveraging my own skills and experiences to build upon the 118-year legacy of helping every child live the healthiest life possible."

Longhurst will succeed Dr. Jeff Sperring, who announced his plan to retire after a decade of dedication and leadership at Seattle Children's.

"It's an exciting day for Seattle Children's as we announce the next leader of our beloved institution," said Sperring. "We are incredibly fortunate to add Chris' deep commitment to our mission and his experience as a leader in delivering exceptional outcomes through clinical excellence, scientific discovery and innovation. His talent and dedication to improving children's health will further enable Children's to expand and accelerate our impact for more children and families across all our communities. Amie and I wish Chris and his family well as they embark upon this exciting new chapter in their lives and the story that is Seattle Children's."

Longhurst is the founder and executive director of the Joan & Irwin Jacobs Center for Health Innovation at UC San Diego Health, where he secured a transformational philanthropic gift to establish a mission control center that deploys artificial intelligence tools to improve patient access and safety.

At UC San Diego School of Medicine, Longhurst serves as associate dean, overseeing education and research in the clinical environment, and is a faculty member in Biomedical Informatics and Pediatrics. His research on care quality, patient safety and health informatics has been published in leading journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA and Pediatrics.

Prior to joining UC San Diego Health, Longhurst was a pediatric hospitalist and chief medical information officer at Stanford Children's Health, where he founded the nation's first accredited clinical informatics fellowship and led strategic efforts to improve pediatric care through technology.

About Seattle Children's
Seattle Children's mission is to provide hope, care and cures to help every child live the healthiest and most fulfilling life possible. Together, Seattle Children's Hospital, Research Institute and Foundation deliver superior patient care, identify new discoveries and treatments through pediatric research, and raise funds to create better futures for patients.

Ranked as one of the top children's hospitals in the country by U.S. News & World Report, Seattle Children's serves as the pediatric and adolescent academic medical center for Washington, Alaska, Montana and Idaho – the largest region of any children's hospital in the country. As one of the nation's top five pediatric research centers, Seattle Children's Research Institute is internationally recognized for its work in neurosciences, immunology, cancer, infectious disease, injury prevention and much more. Seattle Children's Foundation, along with Seattle Children's Guild Association – the largest all-volunteer fundraising network for any hospital in the country – works with our generous community to raise funds for lifesaving care and research.

For more information, visit seattlechildrens.org; follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram; or subscribe to our Healthy Tides newsletter.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Jen Morgan, Sr. Director, Public Engagement
Email: Jen.morgan@seattlechildrens.org

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SOURCE Seattle Children’s