Renown Health's CEO, Dr. Brian Erling, Recognized as a Great Leader in Healthcare 2025 by Becker's National Hospital Review

Renown Health is proud to announce that Brian Erling, MD, MBA, President & CEO has been recognized as a “Great Leader in Healthcare for 2025” by Becker’s Hospital Review.

Becker’s announced their list of Great Leaders for 2025, stating, “Top healthcare leaders are renowned not only for deftly adjusting to changes across the healthcare industry, but also for actively shaping and driving transformation. These executives harness cutting-edge digital technology, pioneer new care delivery models, and implement innovative solutions that enhance experiences for patients and providers alike.”

In their announcement, Anna Falvey of Becker’s highlighted that, “Brian Erling, MD. President and CEO of Renown Health (Reno, Nev.). Two years ago, Dr. Erling stepped into his role as president and CEO of Renown Health, infusing a people-first approach into the organization’s mission, vision and values. He also implemented a new strategic plan to serve 1 million patients, led a restructuring initiative for more efficient operations, and set organizational benchmarks for top quartile performance in quality, finance, strategy, growth, and people. Dr. Erling also reinvested in the community via an affiliation with the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine to build Nevada’s first nonprofit academic health system. As a result of his efforts, Renown’s physician and employee engagement is up to 85% and CEO approval has risen to 78% according to Glassdoor, with a 95% CEO approval score from current employees. Prior, Dr. Erling held leadership positions at Centura Health in Centennial, Colo., including CMO, senior vice president and chief clinical officer. Most recently, he was president and CEO of Colorado Springs, Colo.-based Penrose-St. Francis Health Services. An emergency medicine physician by training, he also previously served as president of the Alliance Group, a subsidiary of Nashville, Tenn.-based Envision Healthcare, and was a founding partner of an emergency group in Denver.”

The Becker's Hospital Review editorial team accepted nominations for this list and curated it to highlight the accomplishments of these leaders. Leaders and organizations cannot pay for inclusion on this list.

As the region’s only Level 2 Trauma Center for adults and children, Renown serves over 1 million people and 100,000 square miles. In U.S. News and World Report Best Hospital Rankings, Renown Regional Medical Center is named #1 Hospital for the State of Nevada for 2024, 2023 and 2022.

Renown Health is Nevada’s largest, not-for-profit integrated healthcare network serving Nevada, Lake Tahoe, and northeast California. With a diverse workforce of more than 8,000 employees, Renown has fostered a longstanding culture of excellence, determination, and innovation. The organization comprises a trauma center, two acute care hospitals, a children’s hospital, a rehabilitation hospital, a medical group and urgent care network, and the locally owned not-for-profit insurance company, Hometown Health. Renown is currently enrolling participants in a community-based genetic population health study, the Healthy Nevada Project®. To join the Renown Health team, visit renown.org/careers.

Becker's Healthcare is the go-to source for healthcare decision-makers and one of the fastest growing media platforms in the industry. Through print, digital and live event platforms, Becker's Healthcare equips healthcare leaders with information and forums they need to learn, exchange ideas and further conversations about the most critical issues in American healthcare today.

Renown Health ICUs Earn Prestigious Beacon Awards for Excellence, 3 Times in Row; Progressive Care Telemetry Unit First Time Winner

National recognition for critical care, intensive and progressive care nurses and units serving as role models for excellent patient and family care The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) has recognized Renown Health Intensive, Critical Care and Progressive Care Units (ICUs, CCUs, PCUs) with Beacon Awards for Excellence®. Renown Health is among the few organizations in the U.S. to achieve this distinction three times in a row. In addition, Renown Regional Medical Center’s Telemetry Unit has been honored with the Beacon Award, ® marking the first time this dedicated team has achieved Beacon status. The Beacon Award for Excellence®, a significant milestone on the path to exceptional patient care and healthy work environments, recognizes unit caregivers who successfully improve patient outcomes and align practices with AACN’s six Healthy Work Environment Standards. Units that achieve this three-year award designations meet national criteria consistent with the ANCC Magnet Recognition Program®, the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and the National Quality Healthcare Award. “These dedicated healthcare professionals join our exceptional community of nurses, who set the standard for optimal patient care,” said AACN President Jennifer Adamski, DNP, APRN, ACNP-BC, CCRN, FCCM. “I applaud the commitment of the caregivers at Renown Health for working together to meet and exceed the high standards set forth by the Beacon Award for Excellence®.” “Earning the Beacon Award for Excellence once is a remarkable achievement- but receiving it three times in a row is truly extraordinary,” said Brian Erling, MD, MBA, President and CEO, Renown Health. This honor reflects the unwavering dedication, sustained performance and a relentless focus on quality and patient safety by our ICU nurses, critical care, intensive and progressive care physicians, and care teams who bring clinical excellence and compassionate care to the bedside every day. We are incredibly proud of their work and honored to be among the few organizations nationwide to achieve this distinction multiple times.” Renown Health is among a select group of health systems nationwide with multiple Beacon-recognized ICUs, underscoring its role as the region’s Trauma Center and a leader in critical care. The four Beacon Awardees for Excellence ® for 2024 at Renown Regional Medical Center include:

Reno is Home to Chief Marketing Officer to Know: Suzanne Hendery of Renown Health, Named to Becker's National List

Becker’s Hospital Review’s annual list of Chief Marketing Officers to Know has been published, recognizing professional healthcare leaders across the country who specialize in branding, marketing and communications. Suzanne Hendery, MA, APR, CPXP of Renown Health, Reno’s only not-for-profit, academic health care organization, is one of the 78 professional hospital and healthcare communicators nationally to be listed, and the only one from Nevada. “The driven, innovative thinkers featured on this list are responsible for implementing impactful marketing strategies for their hospitals and health systems. Utilizing brand building, data analysis, business-to-business and business-to-consumer outreach, partnerships, social media and beyond, these executives lead with creativity and precision. This list celebrates chief marketing officers for their outside-the-box thinking and award-winning creative strategies,” writes Anna Falvey of Becker’s Healthcare. “We are proud to showcase these accomplished professionals, whose work plays a vital role in the success and growth of their organizations. Anna Falvey writes, “Suzanne Hendery. Chief Marketing and Customer Officer at Renown Health (Reno, Nev.). Ms. Hendery works with Renown Health’s CEO, executive team and key stakeholders to create engaging communications and exceptional experiences for customers. She oversees marketing and communications, the customer service call center, customer experience and community health for the largest integrated health system in Nevada, with hospitals and outpatient centers serving 1 million people. Their brand campaign, “Fight the Good Fight,” new website and online physician ratings led Renown to become a premier brand position in the market and a statewide leader. A recent employee referral and recruitment campaign yielded 1,000 new clinicians in just one year. Ms. Hendery has implemented a new initiative focusing on online scheduling for adult primary care and pediatric visits, with the goal of reaching 80% of all patients via online scheduling. This initiative allows patients to learn about different physicians, as well as schedule and receive appointment reminders in both English and Spanish.” Hendery has over 25 years of experience as a health care executive specializing in listening to and engaging key stakeholders to create engaging communications and exceptional experiences that delight customers and transform organizations. She is a nationally recognized leader in successfully implementing customer-centered, enterprise-wide digital transformation and branding efforts to build preference, loyalty and drive revenue and growth. Hendery earned her M.A. in Marketing Communications from the University of Connecticut, is a lecturer at Harvard University, a member of the American Marketing Association Health Care Executive Board, Accredited as APR by the Public Relations Society of America, serves as a national board member for the American Hospital Association’s Board of the Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development. Hendery was selected as the 2020 "Marketing Person of the Year” by the Healthcare and IT Marketing Community (HITMC), and appointed to the Editorial Advisory Board of Strategic Health Care Marketing in 2021. Hendery and her teams have won numerous international and national awards for their outstanding contributions and best practices in healthcare marketing, branding, patient experience and community engagement programs. Suzanne Hendery is a member of the executive leadership team at Renown Health. She is a frequent contributor and speaker for the American Marketing Association, HIMSS, The Forum for Healthcare Strategists, the Healthcare Executive Forum, American Hospital Association, Society for Healthcare Strategy & Market Development (SHSMD), Healthcare Marketing & Physician Strategies Summit, Becker’s, Modern Healthcare. Note: Leaders cannot pay for inclusion on this list.

Renown Leadership

Renown Welcomes Jim D. Thomas as Vice President, Data Center and Networks

Renown Health is pleased to announce the appointment of Jim D. Thomas, CHCIO, MBA as the new Vice President for Data Center and Networks. With a distinguished career in healthcare technology and executive leadership, Jim brings a wealth of experience and expertise to overseeing data center operations, network, and infrastructure engineering/architecture for Nevada’s largest, not-for-profit integrated academic healthcare network serving over 1 million residents across Nevada, Lake Tahoe, and northeast California. Mr. Thomas begins his new role on March 31, 2025, and joins Steven Ramirez, VP and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) and Kathleen Zaski, Vice President of Enterprise IT Applications, in reporting to Chuck Podesta, Chief Information Officer for Renown Health.

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