Blythedale Appoints Dr. Stephen Leinenweber as CMO

Following a comprehensive national search, Blythedale Children’s Hospital announces that Stephen Leinenweber, MD, FAAP, has been selected as its new Chief Medical Officer (CMO). Dr. Leinenweber will begin on August 1, 2023.

Board certified in Pediatrics and Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, Dr. Leinenweber is an experienced clinician, educator and leader who has spent his nearly 30-year career dedicated to the care of children with critical illness and helping lead pediatric health care organizations.

“We are thrilled to have Dr. Leinenweber join the team at Blythedale Children’s Hospital,” said President and CEO Larry Levine. “He is a highly respected physician and clinical leader with expertise in pediatric critical care medicine. He is an ideal match as we continue to develop innovative ways to care for infants, children and adolescents with increasingly high acuity.”

Dr. Leinenweber’s medical leadership experience aligns closely with Blythedale’s vision, most notably in his role as Executive Medical Director of Children’s Services and Medical Director of the Children’s Hospital (equivalent to the Chief Medical Officer role) at WakeMed Health and Hospitals in Raleigh, NC. Most recently, Dr. Leinenweber served as Vice President of Strategy for PM Pediatrics.

His clinical experience includes several years as a pediatric critical care (PICU) physician at the children’s hospitals at Duke University Medical Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and WakeMed Health and Hospitals.

“It is the privilege of a lifetime to join Blythedale Children’s Hospital, an outstanding organization caring for children with complex medical needs and their families for more than a century,” said Dr. Leinenweber. “I look forward to working with everyone at Blythedale on building an organization that will continue to provide this vitally important care for the next 100 years and beyond.”

Dr. Leinenweber received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Notre Dame and graduated from Rush Medical College. He completed his pediatric residency at Cook County Hospital and a fellowship in Pediatric Critical Care at Duke University Children’s Hospital. Dr. Leinenweber also served as an international medical volunteer at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center in the year prior to starting his residency. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and is licensed in New York, Illinois, and North Carolina.

Dr. Leinenweber replaces Dr. Scott Klein, who held the position for the past 10 years and is leaving to assume the role of President and CEO at Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital in Baltimore, MD.