Mercy announced the slate of executives who will serve under incoming President and CEO Steve Mackin on Wednesday.
Five current executives at the St. Louis-based not-for-profit health system will be promoted to Mackin’s top leadership team when he takes over as chief executive in April, the company said in a news release. For the first time in Mercy’s history, three physicians will lead the system’s care delivery operations in clinics, hospitals and virtual care, Mackin said.
“The question that I wanted to answer as we made these appointments was, ‘How do we drive better clinical care in any hospital or clinical operation?’ whether it’s inpatient or outpatient, and drive a continuum of care that makes the most sense in how we serve patients,” he said.
Shannon Sock, currently executive ice president of strategy and chief financial officer, will become chief operating officer and chief strategist. During his 20 years at the company, Sock oversaw its adoption of electronic health records and the establishment of Mercy Virtual. Among Sock’s new responsibilities will be managing the health system’s Accountable Care Organization and its transition to value-based care, Mackin said.
Dr. John Mohart, a cardiologist, will become the first physician named president of Mercy Communities. “He has driven so much in terms of standardization and innovation cost saving,” Mackin said. “He has led our work, our clinical efforts though the pandemic across all of Mercy, in our quality and safety programs.”
Cheryl Matejka will take over Sock’s roles as senior vice president and chief financial officer.
Ajay Pathak will be the new senior vice president and chief strategic ventures officer and will focus on expanding the health system’s outpatient and retail presence.
Dave Thompson, who has managed Mercy’s value-based care contracts, will take on a newly created position as senior vice president of strategic integration and his bailiwick will include overseeing the health system’s risk-bearing contracts
Cynthia Bentzen-Mercer, Dr. Jeff Ciaramita, Dr. Gavin Helton, Joe Kelly, Kevin Minder, Betty Jo Rocchio and Phil Wheeler will continue to serve Mercy in their current roles.