New Mercy president says hospital’s mission unchanged as health care shifts
Anthony Ashby, named Mercy’s president in August, points to partnerships with Jennie Edmundson and others in the community
Anthony Ashby took over as president of CHI Health Mercy Council Bluffs in August, and he wants the community to know that the hospital’s commitment to Council Bluffs has not changed, even as health care does. “The mission hasn’t changed. The commitment to Mercy hasn’t changed,” Ashby said. “Leadership may have changed, different services may have changed, may change in the future, but the commitment to the community is always the same.”
Ashby, who was named president of CHI Health Immanuel in Omaha in 2024, said his move to Mercy came through a reorganization as more health systems have executives oversee multiple campuses. He said the change had nothing to do with the performance of Mercy’s former leaders and is part of an industry trend aimed at efficiency and keeping more resources at the bedside. He first came to the area in 2019 as vice president of operations over both hospitals, and he said Mercy was the first place he interviewed. “The people were so welcoming,” he said. He added that he understands Council Bluffs is its own community. “I’m not just going to pick up everything from Omaha or Immanuel and just drop it and bring it over.”
Mercy, which marked 139 years on Sept. 24, ended its labor and delivery services Aug. 31. Ashby said the decision was driven by the difficulty of finding enough physician coverage, not by the hospital’s finances. He said health care’s workforce has changed since the COVID-19 pandemic, with more doctors and staff seeking part-time work and better balance between work and family life. He sees that shift as a good thing, but said it changes how hospitals staff their services.
Ashby also addressed concerns about changes to Medicaid funding. He said the hospital is preparing for them, but they are no more of a threat to Mercy than to other hospitals serving the same patients. “It’s something that’s looming that’s going to be a challenge for everybody in the industry,” he said. He said Mercy cares for low-income, uninsured and behavioral health patients on purpose, as part of its mission.
Ashby said the future will depend on partnerships, including with the hospital across the street. He described the relationship with Methodist Jennie Edmundson Hospital as “coopetition,” a term he credited to a colleague at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Mercy and Jennie Edmundson recently received an award from the Southwest Iowa Planning Council for working together to help patients get rides to appointments. Mercy is also bringing in Saving Grace Perishable Food Rescue, which collects usable food that would otherwise be thrown away, and Ashby said he invited Jennie Edmundson to take part as well. “If we could both do it and the community is better for it, that’s what I’m all about,” he said.
Ashby, who grew up on the East Coast, said he chose hospital administration because his grandfather, a surgeon in the U.S. Virgin Islands, struggled with the business side of medicine. He said he wanted to help doctors and caregivers focus on patients. He is often seen at community events and said that work is part of the job, citing a World Health Organization finding that health care accounts for only about 20 percent of a person’s overall health. “We can do whatever we can in the hospital, but it’s really how do we help people outside the hospital, so hopefully they don’t even have to come to the hospital in the first place,” he said.
