CENTRALIA/MT. VERNON — Following a nationwide search, Kerry Swanson has been named President of Hospital Operations for SSM Health’s Southern Illinois region. Swanson, the current president of SSM Health St Mary’s Hospital – Janesville, Wisc., brings nearly 17 years of executive and clinical leadership experience to the role.

Swanson will assume the position April 3, 2017, replacing Phil Gustafson, who will retire on March 17. Gustafson has held the role since 2008.

As President of Hospital Operations, Swanson will be responsible for the strategic growth and management of SSM Health’s integrated network of services across the region, including SSM Health SSM Health Good Samaritan Hospital – Mt. Vernon and SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital – Centralia.

“SSM Health is thrilled to welcome Kerry to our Southern Illinois region,” said Chris Howard, President of Hospital Operations at SSM Health. “She will be instrumental in helping SSM Health continue to provide high-quality, compassionate and personalized care to the patients and communities we serve.”

In her current role, Swanson led a team that planned, built and developed operations for the new St Mary’s Hospital – Janesville that opened in January of 2012. Under her leadership, SSM Health St. Mary’s was awarded a Level III trauma designation, chest pain accreditation and the Women’s Choice Award in Obstetrics and Emergency Services in 2015 and 2016. She also oversaw a capital project to create a new state-of-the-art radiation oncology services addition, which opened on the Janesville campus in August 2016.

Swanson has held various executive and clinical leadership roles over the course of her career. Prior to joining SSM Health in 2009, she served as the Chief Operating Officer for Alliance Community Hospital in Ohio from 2006 to 2008, after leading nursing operations as the hospital’s Chief Nursing Officer for the previous four years. She holds a Master of Science in health administration from Warren National University in Wyoming and a Bachelor of Science in nursing from Malone College in Ohio.