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Mercy Health Ministry Announces Foundation Board Members

St. Louis (September 10, 2009) – Mercy Health Ministry (Mercy), the sponsoring body of the Sisters of Mercy Health System, is pleased to announce the founding members of the board of directors of its philanthropy division, the Mercy Foundation for Health Innovation.

Susan Barrett – Ms. Barrett is the former president of Mercy Health System of Northwest Arkansas, a position she held from 1999 to 2008. In this role, she focused on both the operational and philanthropic priorities of the health system, including leading a successful $40 million capital campaign. Previous positions include president/CEO of Mercy Health System of Kansas, vice president and chief operating officer of Mercy Hospital in Independence, Kan., and management roles at other hospitals in Kansas. Ms. Barrett resides in northwest Arkansas.

David C. Pratt – Mr. Pratt is president of Rex Realty Co. in St. Louis and is a member of the Mercy Health Ministry board of directors. He retired in 1999 as chairman of United Industries, a household consumer products company he founded in 1968. He served on the board of directors of St. Luke's Hospital from 1983 through the mid-1990s and was board chair for four years. In 1996, Mr. Pratt received the Excellence in Governance Award from the Missouri Hospital Association. He resides in St. Louis.

Jack Shewmaker – Mr. Shewmaker is a retired president, chief operating officer and vice chairman of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. He has served as a consultant to companies around the world and as a board member for Mercy Health Ministry and organizations including Wal-Mart, Lowe’s, Von’s–Safeway, the Cleveland Clinic and Drury University. Besides his active business involvement, Mr. Shewmaker is a leader in promoting higher education through Students In Free Enterprise, a global non-profit organization active in more than 40 countries. He resides in Bentonville, Ark.

“Mercy is honored that our philanthropy efforts will be supported by such an outstanding group of community leaders,” said Lynn Britton, Mercy president and CEO. “They will play a critical role in our efforts to engage community members in supporting local and System-wide initiatives that focus on health innovation.”

The Mercy Foundation for Health Innovation raises funds in support of the development and implementation of strategies for transforming how Mercy delivers care and responds to the health needs of our communities. The Foundation also has responsibility for coordination of all philanthropic development activities supporting Mercy, working collaboratively with members of local philanthropic boards across Mercy’s seven-state region.

In addition to Ms. Barrett, Mr. Pratt and Mr. Shewmaker, other founding members of the Mercy Foundation for Health Innovation board include Britton, who serves as chair; Ron Ashworth, chair of Mercy Health Ministry; and Sister Mary Roch Rocklage, RSM, Mercy health ministry liaison.

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Mercy Health Ministry

Mercy Health Ministry is the sponsoring body of the Sisters of Mercy Health System (Mercy), which 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. Health ministry members include 19 acute care hospitals providing more than 4,000 licensed beds, two heart hospitals, 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 31,000 co-workers and 4,600 physicians who are employed or practice at Mercy facilities. Mercy is the 8th largest Catholic healthcare system in the U.S. based on net patient service revenue. For more information, visit www.mercy.net.    

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