Mercy Springfield Communities president serves in state, national hospital associations

Mercy Springfield Communities president David Argueta is serving on the Missouri Hospital Association's board of trustees and will be a Missouri delegate for the American Hospital Association, according to a press release. His term began Jan. 1 and will last through December 2026.

MHA is a nonprofit with 140 member hospitals. The organization advocates for policies to improve health and health care and "provides data, decision-support tools and operational resources to help hospitals and health systems deliver care," according to MHA's website.

“We are excited to have David (Argueta’s) counsel on the MHA board,” said Jon D. Doolittle, MHA president and CEO, in the press release. “Not only does he bring nearly 20 years of service in hospital administration to this role, he is passionate about the work hospitals do to make every health care experience a good one.”

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The American Hospital Association represents hospitals on a national level and advocates for members in national health policy, legislature and judicial debates, according to the association's website. The AHA reports its membership includes nearly 5,000 hospitals, health systems, networks and providers, as well as 43,000 individual members.

“I’m honored to have been selected to each of these boards,” Argueta said in a Mercy press release. “This is a nod to Mercy’s role as an industry leader and innovator within health care. The Mercy system is one of the 20 largest U.S. health systems, and we’re leading the way in new technology and patient care right here in the Midwest. I hope that my time with the AHA and MHA boards continues to raise Mercy’s voice as a leader and innovator in our field.”

Argueta has been president of Mercy Communities Springfield since May 2022. Argueta was previously chief administrative officer at Mercy Hospital in Oklahoma City, president with CHI St. Luke's hospitals in Texas, as well as vice president of operations at Baylor Scott & White–Hillcrest in Waco, Texas.

Susan Szuch reports on health and food for the Springfield News-Leader. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @szuchsm. Story idea? Email her at sszuch@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Mercy Springfield exec serves in state, national hospital associations