SSM Health Care

Brett Esrock joined SSM St. Joseph Hospital of Kirkwood in August 2004 as executive vice president/chief operating officer. In his role, Esrock oversees the daily operations of the hospital with more than 925 employees and 750 physicians on staff. In addition, he is actively involved in planning and designing a new, state-of-the-art medical complex in southwest St. Louis County that will replace St. Joseph Hospital in 2008. Prior to joining St. Joseph Hospital, Esrock served in a similar position at SSM Rehab where he was a major contributor to SSM Rehab's success and growth. He has been with SSM Health Care for 13 years, having also served as director of financial planning/decision support manager at SSM St. Mary's Health Center, and senior financial analyst at SSM Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital. Esrock holds a bachelor's degree in finance from Indiana University and a master's degree in business administration from Saint Louis University.

As regional vice president-medical affairs/Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Varga oversees the strategic development, direction and management support provided to the health care network's seven St. Louis hospitals and the SSM Physicians' Organization in the areas of clinical quality performance, patient safety and clinical resource management.

Glenn has an extensive background in healthcare financial management having served as a Chief Financial Officer in not-for-profit and for-profit health systems. Glenn is enthusiastic about hospital net revenue cycle improvement. With over 18 years of healthcare experience, he understands thoroughly the challenges hospitals face to meet the expectations of financial performance. Prior to founding G2N, Glenn worked with Tenet Healthcare, Alexian Brothers Health System and SSM Healthcare.

Mr. Rotter leads managed care contracting strategists for SSM Health Care-St. Louis and the SSM Managed Care Organization. Mr. Rotter also is responsible for the operations and performance of the 15,000 member SSMHC-St. Louis employee health plan, ExclusiveChoice, and serves as co-chair of the SSM MCO Board of Managers and as Chair of the SSM MCO Contract Committee.

As CAO for physician partnerships, Mr. Renken is responsible for the strategy, operations, site development and expansion for the four SSM Medical Groups comprised of over 150 physicians. He is also responsible for the oversight of all physician partnerships and joint ventures for SSM Health Care - St. Louis.

As regional vice president/Chief Financial Officer for SSM Health Care-St. Louis, Mary Sue Embertson oversees all the financial functions for the health care network and its eight St. Louis-area hospitals. Prior to joining SSM Health Care-St. Louis in 2001, Ms. Embertson owned her own healthcare financial consulting and interim leadership services company, Embertson Consulting, in Madison, Wisc.

Tom Langston joined SSM Health Care in 1981 as manager of employee benefits. Langston has held positions as corporate director of employee benefits and ERP executive project manager and is currently a System Vice President, President of SSM Integrated Health Technologies and Chief Information Officer for SSM Health Care. He holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Missouri and a master's degree in business administration/finance from St. Louis University.

William C. Schoenhard, FACHE, has served as Executive Vice President/Chief Operating Officer for SSM Health Care since 1986. Prior to assuming this role, Schoenhard served as executive director of SSM St. Joseph Health Center, St. Charles, Mo., and SSM St. Joseph Hospital West, Lake Saint Louis, Mo.; executive director of Arcadia Valley Hospital, Pilot Knob, Mo.; and associate executive director of SSM St. Mary's Health Center, St. Louis. Before he joined SSM Health Care, Schoenhard served as vice president and director of General Services at Deaconess Hospital, St. Louis. Schoenhard earned a master's degree with honors in health-care administration from Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis. He earned his bachelor of science degree in public administration from the University of Missouri in Columbia. Schoenhard is a member of the board of trustees of the American Hospital Association and also serves as a member of the AHA Executive Committee. He is past-chairman of the American College of Healthcare Executives, served as past-chair of the Missouri Hospital Association and is a past member of the Missouri Commission on Patient Safety. In November 2007, Schoenhard was awarded the Missouri Hospital Association's (MHA) Distinguished Service Award. Schoenhard was honored for his leadership, advocacy and commitment to health care. The award is the highest honor given by MHA and is awarded annually to recognize individuals who have made significant contributions to health care, Missouri hospitals and the communities they serve.

Dawn holds a B.S. in Legal Studies, M.B.A. with an emphasis in Healthcare Finance, and a Ph.D. in Business and Educational Leadership. She has over eighteen years of healthcare experience, as well as twelve years of serving as adjunct faculty at various colleges. Currently, she is the Corporate Vice President of Organizational Effectiveness at SSM Health Care, which was the first healthcare system to win the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award. Her personal interests include collecting antiques, playing the piano, and reading.

Lisa Drier Jones is Vice President of Development for SSM St. Joseph Health Center and SSM St. Joseph Hospital West. She began her fund raising and development career at SSM in 1996 and since then has raised more than $1 million annually for the hospital. Additionally, her responsibilities include the management of the auxiliary and volunteer groups whose members' donated time saves SSM St. Joseph over $1 million annually. Prior to her work at SSM, Lisa was the Director of Community Development and Public Relations for Boone Center, Inc. in St. Peters. Lisa received her B.S. degree from Southeast Missouri State University and her M.A. from Lindenwood University. She serves as a Board member of the St. Charles Sunrise Rotary Club and Campbell Montessori School, a Cabinet Member for the Association of Healthcare Philanthropy, a member of the Foristell Chamber of Commerce, and the Association of Fund raising Professionals. She is also the past President of the Wentzville Chamber of Commerce.

VanConia was the vice president of speciality services for SSM St. Joseph Health Center, St. Joseph Hospital West, St. Joseph Medical Park and St. Joseph Health Center-Wentzville. Prior to joining SSM St. Joseph St. Charles in 1999, he was the executive director at XRT Inc.

Mr. Porter oversees the strategic development, planning and communications for SSM Health Care-St. Louis. Mr. Porter also is responsible for the network's managed care organization, behavioral health services, and public policy initiatives. His current role includes development and design of a state-of-the-art replacement hospital for one of SSM's older facilities.