Welcome new CEO Josh Neff

Please help us welcome Josh Neff, who joins Mercy Hospital’s 143-year legacy of care, serving as our new Chief Executive Officer. Josh brings vast knowledge and expertise to rural health care and understands what is essential to all of us– the importance of keeping medical care close to home.

Josh joined CommonSpirit in 2018, and throughout his career, has focused on growing much-needed services in our rural communities. During his time at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Kansas, he opened a 6-bed ICU, launched a voluntary detox program, and added air medical transport through Flight For Life© Colorado. At the same time, Josh was committed to partnerships with community organizations, and built deep personal relationships that expanded the mission beyond the walls of the hospital. He has supported a team of critical access hospital CEOs, and successfully implemented operational and turn-around plans to create long-term sustainability for our 16 affiliate hospitals.

He received a Master’s of Organizational Leadership from the University of Oklahoma and a Bachelor’s of Business Administration from Tarleton State University. Josh says, “I’m beyond excited to have the opportunity to be the next leader at Mercy and continue the amazing work that’s been done there for so many years. It’s an honor to join the team. I fell in love with the Four Corners region — its beauty and its incredible history and diversity — years ago. I have wanted to work, live and play in the region for some time, and now I get to do that!”

Wanda Ellingson, Mercy Board of Trustees Chair says: “CommonSpirit and Mercy Hospital are committed to expanding access to high-quality care for everyone in the Four Corners Region, and with Josh’s unique background in rural care, we believe he is the right person to help us continue to build for the future. Mercy Hospital and its caregivers bring a level of commitment and compassion to each patient that cannot be matched, and Josh understands why this makes Mercy such an important part of our community.”

We are thrilled to have Josh join our outstanding team in Durango at Mercy Hospital.