Welcome to the website of St. Joseph’s Medical Center. I am honored to serve as St. Joseph’s new CEO. I am not new to the “family” of St. Joseph’s; during my career here I have worked as a nurse, nurse manager and most recently, Vice President of Operations.

It continues to be an exciting time of change for St. Joseph’s Medical Center and growth for our region. Our region is growing at twice the state and national rate. New businesses and families are moving to our area every day. The good news is we continue to take steps to serve the health care needs of our growing population. The completion of our $28 million expansion project, the opening of the (ambulatory) Brainerd Lakes Surgery Center and our Excel in the Spirit of Caring customer service initiative are examples of our continued focus of putting the patient first and commitment to the community.

Most recently, St. Joseph’s Medical Center and Brainerd Medical Center decided to integrate. Brainerd Medical Center (BMC) is a 50-physician multi-specialty group practice. The integration was accomplished through the creation of a nonprofit parent organization, the Brainerd Lakes Health (BLH) in January 2007.

Integration brought about several changes in the roles of leadership. In addition to my new role as CEO, my predecessor, Thomas Prusak, was selected to serve as President and CEO of BLH. Dr. David Boran will serve as Chief Medical Officer and Pat DeLong will serve as the Chief Information Officer of BLH. Curt Nielsen will continue as BMC’s Clinic Administrator.

BMC and SJMC’s shared vision is to create a system which is highly responsive to the community’s health care needs by increasing the range of services available locally, providing stewardship to the community’s health resources, and improving the patient experience and quality of health care delivery. We believe that affiliation is the best way to achieve this vision.

The organization will adhere to and fulfill this vision in a number ways, including:

1. Growing the physician base by adding up to 40 physicians in 5 years
2. Expanding the range of services, including a new cardiology program
3. Investing in new technologies
4. Introducing new care models, like a hospitalist program
5. Sharing services, therefore avoiding duplication

I look forward to helping St. Joseph’s Medical Center continue to grow and provide the best possible health care in our region. On behalf of our board of directors, physician partners, employees and volunteers, I would like to thank you for your support of St. Joseph’s Medical Center. I look forward to continuing our work together to meet the evolving health care needs of this region.

Jani Wiebolt,
President