St. Mary's Medical Center CEO Recognized by Becker's

Becker's Recognizes Community Hospital CEOs

CHICAGO (July 2025) — Becker's Hospital Review is delighted to release the 2025 edition of its “Community hospital CEOs to know” list.

Community hospital CEOs play a pivotal role in shaping the future of local healthcare by developing and executing strategic plans that elevate patient care, expand services and enhance hospital facilities. In close collaboration with their leadership teams, they actively engage with the communities they serve, ensuring hospital offerings are tailored to local needs.

This list celebrates community hospital CEOs for their commitment to delivering accessible, high-quality care, offering acute care, primary care, rehabilitation, public health services and beyond.

Becker’s Healthcare is proud to recognize Kelly Pearce for his dedication to improving community health, fostering strong workplace cultures, driving sustainable growth and securing the long-term success of their hospitals.

Kelly Pearce. CEO of St. Mary’s Medical Center (Blue Springs, Mo.)
Mr. Pearce leads St. Mary’s Medical Center, a 137-bed hospital, where he has driven operational improvement through strategic physician alignment and culture transformation. He eliminated contract labor reliance and reduced premium labor expenses, while improving the Medicare length of stay and safety culture survey results across all 13 measured categories. Mr. Pearce fostered strategic partnerships across orthopedic, gastrointestinal, pain and general surgery groups, enhancing outpatient and ambulatory surgical services. A former critical care nurse and nursing operations executive, he brings clinical insight to leadership and engages directly with emergency medical services partners through field ride-alongs. Mr. Pearce is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and a respected voice in advancing community care delivery.
 

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