Trustees Propose New Executive to Oversee Johns Hopkins Medicine Representatives of university and Johns Hopkins Health System trustees are proposing that a new senior officer oversee all patient care, medical research and medical teaching at both institutions. The new administrative officer, who would report to the president of the university, would be responsible for all of Johns Hopkins Medicine: the university's School of Medicine as well as both hospitals and all the outpatient services and other subsidiaries that comprise the health system. The university and health system are separate corporations, closely linked for more than a century. They have been working for more than a year to better integrate their medical operations. The trustees of both institutions last summer created a joint administrative structure, called the Office of Johns Hopkins Medicine. Creation of a single source of authority, said the trustees who proposed the new executive position last week, would allow Johns Hopkins Medicine to "respond rapidly and decisively to new opportunities in the healthcare market." The new officer would also "ensure support for the academic and clinical missions" of Johns Hopkins Medicine, the trustees said in a statement released Tuesday. He or she will "align financial incentives between the two organizations, so that everyone can see that what benefits one side of the partnership benefits the other," the statement said. The statement, signed by health system board chairman George L. Bunting Jr. and university board chairman Morris W. Offit, said discussions are continuing between representatives of the two boards.