KEARNEY, NE – The Good Samaritan Hospital Board of Directors has named Michael H. Schnieders as the new president and chief executive officer of Good Samaritan Hospital, GSH officials announced on May 18.
Schnieders will assume his new leadership post later in June. A 25-year health care management executive, Schnieders has a strong background in strategic development, finance and physician relations. He has extensive experience in non-profit Catholic health care in addition to the for-profit health sector, said Dale Pohlmann, Good Samaritan Hospital board chair.
“Michael’s accomplishments speak for themselves, and I am pleased about the experience that he will bring to his new role in Kearney. Specifically, Michael has a proven ability to build relationships with physicians and the community and to develop high quality healthcare services,” Pohlmann said. “I thank the physicians and board members who served on the CEO Selection Committee for their time and diligence in reviewing the many qualified candidates.”
Bob Lanik, who is serving as the hospital’s interim CEO, commended the board on its selection. “Michael Schnieders stood out from a field of strong candidates. He has been very successful in collaborating to develop a shared vision of health care and inspiring the hospital leadership, medical staff, employees and the community to achieve the vision. We have every reason to believe he will do the same at Good Samaritan, and we welcome him to the organization,” said Lanik, senior vice president, division operations for Catholic Health Initiatives and president and CEO of Saint Elizabeth Regional Medical Center, Lincoln.
Schnieders said that he is excited about his new role and looks forward to meeting Good Samaritan employees, medical staff and Kearney community leaders. “I see wonderful opportunity at Good Samaritan, and I’m eager to put a 100-day plan in place so that we can build on the momentum of this fine organization and keep it moving forward in terms of quality care, outstanding service and strategic growth that meets community needs,” he said.
A committee of eight members, including four physicians, conducted the CEO search and made the recommendation to hire Schnieders. Their process included a series of interviews and an open house for physicians to meet the candidates.
A native of Iowa, Schnieders was executive vice president and administrator of Good Samaritan Hospital, a 370-bed regional medical center in Suffern, NY, with a 700-member medical staff and more than 1,600 employees. While there (from 2003 to 2009), he created a cardiovascular institute that received national recognition after its first year from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons and additional honors as one of the best in the U.S.
Additionally under Schnieders’ leadership, Good Samaritan Hospital was designated as a primary stroke center by the Joint Commission.
He also successfully recruited physicians and clinicians across multiple service lines and formed a hospital-employed primary care physician group.
Previously, Schnieders spent 19 years with Covenant Health System in Waterloo, IA, rising to the position of chief operating officer. As senior vice president, business services and chief financial officer, he developed Northeast Iowa Healthcare, Inc., a physician-hospital organization. He also established a primary care practice of employed physicians, which grew from 10 physicians to more than 90 primary care and multispecialty physicians. In addition, he directed the acquisition of 11 existing physician practices.
Schnieders is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives and of the Healthcare Financial Management Association. He received an MBA degree from the University of Iowa and a Bachelor of Arts degree in accounting from the University of Northern Iowa. Schnieders and his wife, Diane, have a daughter, Emelia, a recent nursing graduate, and a son, Thomas, a college student.
