Kerrville, TX – After a lengthy search and dozens of interviews, the Board of Directors has announced that John McDonald, FACHE, will assume the role of President and CEO for Peterson Health. “We are thrilled to have John as the next leader of our team. We interviewed several highly qualified candidates for this role. John stood out as not only having great experience and leadership ability, but also the personality and values that align with our mission and culture,” said Mary Liz Eastland, Chair-Elect for Peterson Health. Board Chair Tom Houdeshell said, “I want to thank all the members of our Search Committee who sacrificed many hours to this process. We are confident that John is the leader who will carry on our legacy of exceptional, compassionate, patient-centered care and continue our growth as a regional medical provider.”
A native Texan, John’s career has prepared him well for this new role. He earned a bachelor’s degree in biomedical science from Texas A&M and an MBA and MHA from the University of Houston-Clear Lake. He started his healthcare career as a patient care technician in the Houston Methodist Hospital System while working on his master’s degree. Upon graduation, he spent the next six years with Houston Methodist leaving as Director of Advanced Wound Care. He then moved on to Texas Children’s Hospital as the Practice Administrator for their Pulmonary Medicine department. In 2013, John accepted the Chief Operating Officer role at Universal Health Services in Amarillo, Texas where he led several improvement initiatives. He joined HCA Healthcare in 2015 and served as Chief Operating Officer at Corpus Christi Medical Center. From there, HCA promoted him to serve in their Missouri market as CEO at Lee’s Summit Medical Center and most recently as CEO of Centerpoint Medical Center.
Living in the Texas Hill Country has long been a goal of John and his wife Jessica. “When this opportunity presented itself, I knew I had to put my name in the hat. Jessica and I love this part of Texas, and we have strong family connections here. Peterson is a great organization with a long tradition of serving the Hill Country. Having the opportunity to raise my two daughters in Kerrville and serve this community is truly a dream come true,” said John. “We are incredibly excited. Peterson Health is a unique and innovative organization, and I can’t wait to serve alongside this incredible team.”
The McDonald family is currently in the process of transitioning to Kerrville, and John will officially start in the new role in June.
