SANTA ROSA, Calif. (May 11, 2026) — Providence Sonoma County today announced that Sean Townsend, MD, will join the organization as chief medical officer effective June 1, bringing extensive executive, clinical and academic experience along with a nationally recognized record in quality, safety and sepsis care.
Most recently, Dr. Townsend served as chief medical executive for clinical transformation at Sutter Health, where he led systemwide work to advance clinical integration, physician-led governance, service line growth, patient safety, health equity, data analytics and patient experience. He previously served as chief operating officer and vice president of quality and safety at California Pacific Medical Center, where he oversaw hospital operations, major clinical service lines, and enterprise quality and safety performance across a three-hospital academic medical center.
Dr. Townsend is especially well known for his leadership in sepsis care. He developed SEP-1, the first national sepsis quality measure adopted by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and continues to serve as the national measure steward. Dr. Townsend’s research interests include evaluating sepsis care in emergency departments and he is site investigator on a grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. He has also contributed to national and international efforts to improve sepsis recognition and treatment.
“I’m honored to join Providence Sonoma County and support its mission of delivering high-quality, compassionate care,” said Dr. Townsend. “I look forward to partnering with physicians, caregivers and leaders across the organization to build on the important work already underway.”
A critical care physician and accomplished physician executive, Dr. Townsend has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications on sepsis care, quality improvement and outcomes. He is an associate clinical professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, has held faculty appointments at Brown University, the University of Massachusetts and Harvard Medical School.
He earned his medical degree from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, completed his internal medicine residency at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and completed a combined fellowship in pulmonary and critical care medicine at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital.
In his new role, Dr. Townsend will help advance Providence Sonoma County’s commitment to high-quality, patient-centered care across its hospitals and care settings, supporting continued clinical excellence for patients and communities throughout the region.
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