St. John's Health System Leadership Change
Aug. 30, 2005

Jay Eckersley, president and chief executive officer of St. John’s Health System, has announced his plans to take early retirement in order to fulfill a call to serve a fulltime mission with his wife, Ellen, for the Mormon church.

“We are appreciative of the strong leadership Jay has provided to St. John’s over the past six years and extend our best wishes in his future endeavors,” said Ron Ashworth, president and CEO of the Sisters of Mercy Health System, the sponsoring organization of St. John’s Health System.

Eckersley came to St. John’s in July 1999.

“I have greatly enjoyed working with the physician partners, management leaders and all of the co-workers who make up St. John’s. Together, with the employers in our community, we have worked diligently to improve the quality of healthcare while increasing efficiencies. I’m proud to have been a part of this fine organization. For Ellen and me, the opportunity to serve a mission of our church is something we have planned for a long time. The opportunity is now and we are pleased to serve,” Eckersley said.

Kim Day, St. John’s executive vice president and chief financial officer, has been named to the position of President and CEO, effective September 6. Eckersley will remain at St. John’s through September in order to provide for a smooth transition.

Day joined St. John’s as CFO in 2000 and was named executive vice president in 2003, with expanded responsibility for operations. Previously, Day served in executive leadership roles with SSM Health Care in St. Louis and Menorah Medical Center in Kansas City. He holds a master’s degree in business administration from Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg and a bachelor of science degree in business administration from Rockhurst College, Kansas City.

“Kim has demonstrated outstanding leadership as EVP/CFO and is well qualified to guide St. John’s into the future,” said John Sullivan, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Sisters of Mercy Health System. “St. John’s will benefit from his experience and the strong relationships he has built with the management team, physicians, co-workers and System leadership.”

St. John’s is an integrated healthcare delivery system with more than 9,000 co-workers serving a 32-county area of the Ozarks with hospitals in Springfield, Lebanon, Mountain View, Aurora and Cassville, Missouri, and Berryville, Arkansas. St. John’s Clinic is comprised of more than 460 physicians with 73 offices in 40 communities. St. John’s Health Plans provides a variety of managed care and direct contract options for businesses and individuals and serves more than 260,000 covered lives.

 
The Sisters of Mercy Health System (Mercy) operates hospitals, physician practices, outpatient clinics, health plans and related health and human services in a seven‑state area including Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas. Its members include 18 acute care hospitals providing more than 4,000 licensed beds, a heart hospital, a managed care subsidiary (Mercy Health Plans), physician practices, outpatient care facilities, home health programs, skilled nursing services and long-term care facilities. Services are provided by approximately 26,000 co-workers and 3,100 physicians who are employed or practice at Mercy facilities. Mercy is the ninth largest Catholic healthcare system in the U.S. based on net patient service revenue and is sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy–St. Louis Regional Community.

For media information, contact Barb Meyer, Sisters of Mercy Health System, (314) 628-3633or Cora Scott, St. John’s Health System, (417) 820-2426.