Warner new hospital CEO

Staff report

Interim Greene County Medical Center CEO Tracy Warner has dropped interim from her title.

Warner has been selected as the organization’s new full-time CEO, the Greene County Medical Center board of trustees and their affiliation partner, UnityPoint Health-Des Moines, announced on June 4. 

“Tracy is an outstanding leader who has earned the respect of hospital CEOs, board members and senior staff across the state with her excellent understanding of key issues facing health care and her work to support the retention of services at rural hospitals,” local board chairman Jim Schleisman said in a statement. “I am confident she is the right person to lead our organization during this time of change in health care.”

Warner served as director of rural health resources at UnityPoint Health-Des Moines for 14 years.

During that time, Warner was instrumental in arranging numerous resources for rural hospitals, including trustee and leadership education, recruitment of senior leaders, support for strategic planning, networking among key hospital personnel, regulatory compliance, job shadowing, the Epic electronic heath record, telemedicine grants, and clinical and operational best practices.

Prior to joining UnityPoint, Warner served in various finance policy related roles at the Iowa Hospital Association for more than 13 years, including vice president of finance policy.

“I am honored to have been selected as the next leader for Greene County Medical Center,” she said. “I am ready to build upon the experiences and skills gained from my health care career to date, across the state and within UnityPoint Health. I’m excited to be in this role so I can provide even greater support to this organization with the intent of not only surviving, but thriving as a trusted community asset that will continue our mission of Always Here, Always Caring.”

Warner received a bachelor of science in business administration from the University of Kansas. She and husband Rick have four children and three grandchildren.

She succeeds Carl Behne as the medical center’s chief executive following his resignation in January after eight years at the helm.

Behne left for a position as chief strategy officer of Exemplar Care in West Des Moines, a new venture specializing in direct primary care — no insurance is accepted — started by Dr. Jon Van Der Veer, formerly chief medical officer at the Greene County Medical Center.