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St. Luke's Hospital has named James B. (Jim) Bross as its new Chief Executive Officer. He follows Ken Shull who announced in March that he would retire after 43 years in healthcare. Shull led St. Luke's Hospital for nearly seven years.
"We are pleased to welcome someone with the experience and knowledge in healthcare delivery that Jim Bross has to our hospital," said Clark Benson, chair of the St. Luke's Hospital Board of Trustees. "Jim's achievements and career experiences as well as his personal demeanor will serve St. Luke's well and help move us forward despite the challenges small and large hospitals face in today's environment.
"While we sadly wish Ken well in his impending retirement, we are excited for the future of St. Luke's Hospital under Jim's leadership," Benson added.
With past experience at a hospital similar in size to St. Luke's, Bross said he is looking forward to new challenges and integrating into a new community, meeting the "caregivers" (medical staff, hospital staff and volunteers) and the citizens who depend on St. Luke's Hospital for their medical care.
A native of Central, S.C., Bross brings to St. Luke's 32 years of hospital and health plan executive management and healthcare consulting experience. His immediate plan, he said, is to better understand his new community in order to best meet the health and wellness needs of those St. Luke's Hospital serves. He will also focus on sustaining an environment where all caregivers find enjoyment and fulfillment in serving patients and their families.
"Getting to know and understand the community, including the surrounding area served by our hospital, will be my first priority," Bross said. "Other activities, plans, aspirations and goals of the hospital must be based on understanding the needs of the area that we serve."
As the new CEO of St. Luke's, Bross brings strong management experience from his most recent position as chief executive officer of Mission Health System's affiliate, Angel Medical Center (AMC) in Franklin, where he served for three years. Like St. Luke's, Angel Medical is a federally designated critical access hospital that has unique operational and revenue challenges.
Prior to AMC, Bross was responsible for business development, client service and delivery and staff coordination as the Senior Director of Client Service for Applied Revenue Analytics in Texas. He served Rutherford Hospital from August 1991 to 2010 in financial management as the Chief Financial Officer and later as the Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Vice President of Operations.
Bross is a 1991 graduate of The Citadel with a Master of Business Administration and a 1984 graduate of Southern Wesleyan University (Central Wesleyan College) in Central, S.C.
He and his wife, Angie, an elementary school teacher, are moving to Polk County within the month. With parents living nearby in Upstate SC, they are also happy to be closer to their daughter Anna who will begin a teaching career this fall in nearby Pickens, S.C.
Bross recognizes "Along with the rest of the St. Luke's family and community, I join in great respect and admiration for the body of work done by your retiring CEO. I have big shoes to fill, but I'm thrilled for this opportunity and look forward to working closely with our Board and all caregivers, including our Medical Staff, our hospital staff and our volunteers.
"We will honor the great work of past leaders and the rich history of St. Luke's while seeking to determine which clinical programs and services can be expanded or developed to meet the health needs of our community," Bross said.
The public is invited to meet Jim and Angie Bross during a drop-in reception Tuesday, Aug. 2, 4:30-6 p.m., in the Family Waiting Area of the orthopedic wing at St. Luke's Hospital. For more information, please call 828-894-0971 or 828-894-0972.
