Via Christi Health President and CEO Jeff Korsmo is leaving the Wichita, Kan.-based health system for a leadership position with not-for-profit Essentia Health in Duluth, Minn. His final day will be May 13.
Via Christi was picked up by St. Louis-based Ascension Health in 2013. At that time, Ascension assumed full ownership of not only Via Christi, but also Ministry Health Care in Milwaukee and St. John Health System in Tulsa, Okla. Those three systems composed Marian Health System.
Korsmo, 57, has been at the helm of Via Christi since September 2011. He also holds the title of senior VP at Ascension Health/Kansas ministry market executive.
“It has been a pleasure to work with Jeff for the past several years,” Patricia Maryland, president of healthcare operations and COO, Ascension Health, said in a press release. “His commitment and dedication to providing compassionate, personalized care to individuals across Kansas, especially people living in poverty and those most vulnerable, has contributed to the continued success of our healthcare ministry in Kansas.”
While at Via Christi, Korsmo advocated for Medicaid expansion in Kansas, according to a press release.
Under his leadership, Via Christi developed a program to help providers address human trafficking.
Korsmo previously spent nearly 30 years in leadership positions at Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic.
Todd Conklin, Via Christi's COO, will serve as interim president and CEO while Ascension searches for Korsmo's replacement, according to the release. He came to Via Christi in 2015 and was previously in executive leadership roles at Englewood, Colo.-based Catholic Health Initiatives and SCL Health, Broomfield, Colo.
In September, Via Christi made cutbacks because of decreases in reimbursement from Medicare, Medicaid and private insurers. In a memo obtained by Modern Healthcare, Korsmo said that since 2013, the system had absorbed $25 million in annual reimbursement cuts from government and private payers. Also, Korsma said the failure of Kansas to expand its Medicaid program has left Via Christi with more than $28 million in lost revenue over the past two years.
