Robert Ritz was named president of Mercy Medical Center-Des Moines (Iowa). Ritz, 51, is president and CEO of St. John's Hospital in Springfield, Ill., which is operated by Springfield-based Hospital Sisters Health System.
In Des Moines, he takes over leadership from Dave Vellinga, who has been the hospital's president and CEO for the past 15 years and also serves as a division leader for Mercy's parent, Englewood, Colo.-based Catholic Health Initiatives. Vellinga, 63, will retain that position as well as the role of president and CEO of Mercy Health Network Iowa, an integrated network co-sponsored by CHI and Trinity Health, headquartered in Livonia, Mich. Vellinga also will remain chairman of the University of Iowa Health Alliance.
