Familiar face returns for new role

He’s been walking the halls again since May of last year. But as our integration with Intermountain is expected to accelerate through 2026, his new role is really about to get rolling.

After a year in Oregon, Peter Hession, MD, MBA, rejoined our team last year as Intermountain’s new medical director of Anesthesia Quality. It’s a position that will allow him to improve the safety and quality of anesthesia care across the enterprise.

And the cherry on top: He provides care once a week at Saint Joseph with Sound Physicians.

“I missed everyone!” he said “My friends and colleagues here had been such a big part of my life since 2010. With this new position, the opportunity to return and my interest in impacting care on a larger scale have aligned for me.”

Hession describes his return to Saint Joseph as ‘hugs around every corner,’ even with the departure of Kaiser, a group that he says defined his professional identity for more than a decade. As disbelief of the fracture settled into sadness for a time, he now feels the familiarity of a culture that remains strong and a purpose that seems scripted just for him.

“Physicians who’ve been as deeply invested in this medical staff for as long as I have can provide the continuity and institutional knowledge that infuses the Saint Joseph culture, which I’m happy to say remains palpable,” he said. “It’s as special as it’s always been, and now I have the privilege to be part of the rebuild.”

As medical director of Anesthesia Quality for Intermountain, Hession will work on behalf of the 800 anesthesia physicians and APPs across the system’s seven states to make the care they provide easier, safer, better.

This year, among a variety of projects, he and his team will work to enhance and solidify the pre-anesthesia optimization process for patients across the enterprise, ensuring patients are as healthy as possible pre-surgery.

“This is necessary, worthwhile work that I’m passionate about,” said Hession, “and the fact that I get to do it on this scale just sharpens the joy of coming back.”

Physicians who have suggestions for improving anesthesia care and processes that can be implemented system-wide can contact Hession at peter.hession@imail.org.