Great River Health President and CEO Matt Wenzel resigns

Matt Wenzel resigned from his position as president and CEO of Great River Health, the health system that runs hospitals in West Burlington and Fort Madison announced Friday.

“I am pleased to have led Great River Health from one hospital to three hospital campuses during my five years as president and CEO," Wenzel said in a statement. "I wish all the best for Great River Health and continue to believe in the team that will lead the health system forward.”

Wenzel took on the leadership role in 2018 following the retirement of Mark Richardson. During an interview with The Hawk Eye at the start of his time at Great River Health, Wenzel said he was focused on developing relationships and continuing the focus on providing health care on a regional level.

The health system underwent a number of changes throughout Wenzel's tenure, including the acquisition of Fort Madison Community Hospital in 2018.

“We had two communities that were competing for limited resources for the longest time — those being Fort Madison and Burlington,” Wenzel told The Hawk Eye during a previous interview. “In August 2018 is when we started working together. And if you look at how fast things have come together and the collaboration between the two, I think that if you talk to the boards at each hospital, everyone couldn’t be more pleased with how things have come together so quickly.“

The Burlington and Fort Madison hospitals were brought under the same name of Southeast Iowa Regional Medical Center in 2020, operating instead as the same hospital with two campuses, thus positioning the two to qualify for Sole Community Hospital classification under the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which in turn allowed for greater reimbursements.

Wenzel also led the Project Synergy effort, a cost-saving initiative launched in an effort to get out from under the health system's $26 million operational loss that was largely made possible by the Fort Madison merger.

The health system had been on track to drastically reduce that loss when COVID-19 hit and voluntary health services were suspended. The hospital partnered with Test Iowa to set up a COVID testing site at the Des Moines County Fairgrounds and established a COVID unit in anticipation of a surge of patients.

Many staff were retained during that time, Wenzel previously told The Hawk Eye, by being assigned to different departments to ensure they could continue to earn a living. But Great River was not immune to cuts, including the loss of 30 largely managerial positions in June 2020 as well as the upcoming loss of 35 medical coding employees to outsourcing.

Like other hospitals grappling with the pandemic, Great River Health also has experienced staffing shortages brought on by early retirements and burnout, pushing it to rely on more expensive travel staff. Between higher travel staff costs, inflation and continued lags in reimbursements, Wenzel announced earlier this year that the health system's operational loss had increased to $40 million.

This, coupled with further staff shortages as GRH cut back on travel staff, resulted in the closure of the acute care unit on the West Burlington campus, as well as inpatient capacity limits.

This came as the health system is undergoing a legal battle with Des Moines County to reverse a decision by the board of review resulting in an additional $5.5 million in property taxes.

Wenzel's time at Great River has seen upsides, as well, including the opening of an urgent care and diagnostic imaging clinic on the West Burlington campus, the addition of a day care center at the Fort Madison campus and the planned expansion of West Burlington's child care center, a $10 million investment by GRH into growing the health care workforce through a partnership with Southeastern Community College, and the opening of the Keokuk Clinic and Family Planning of Southeast Iowa.

The announcement of Wenzel's resignation comes days after a meeting of the Great River Health Board of Directors, which thanked him for his efforts and leadership.

"The Board of Directors wishes to thank Matt for his leadership through very challenging times in the health care industry and for having the organization positioned well for the future," board chairman Doug Martin said in a statement. "The board wishes Matt success in his career."

Chief Medical Officer Michael McCoy has been appointed as acting CEO, and Wenzel will be available for consultation during the transition period.

Melissa Jones, system executive of marketing and communications for Great River Health, said further comments will not be provided at this time.

This article originally appeared on The Hawk Eye: Great River Health President, CEO Matt Wenzel resigns