Don Beeler, the longtime health care executive who helped broker the sale of McKenna Memorial Hospital, is stepping down as CEO of the Christus Santa Rosa Health System.
Christus announced Monday that he will be retiring from his 38-year career in health care on Jan. 29.
“It’s never an easy decision, especially because I’ve been doing this for so many years,” Beeler said. “But I feel very confident in the future of Christus Santa Rosa. We’re well-positioned, and I think we’ll continue to build on the progress we’ve made in New Braunfels, as well as at our other facilities.”
Beeler has served as Christus’ CEO since 2003. He will be working with the Christus board and Christus Senior Vice President and COO Ernie Sadau to craft a transition plan and begin a formal search for his replacement, according to a Monday press release.
Beeler was a key part of Christus’ purchase of McKenna Memorial Hospital in 2008.
“It was controversial back then, but I think everyone realizes that the decision made by the McKenna board was done with the best interests of the community in mind,” he said.
When the sale of the hospital was finalized in January, Beeler said the San Antonio-based health care system would be concentrating on expanding services to keep residents from leaving New Braunfels for medical care.
Christus is now in the process of investing $10 million in a full-service interventional cardiology and cardiac surgery program, with construction beginning this month on a new 17,000 square-foot cardiac care unit, planned to be finished next year.
Earlier this month, a local surgical team performed the first-ever open-heart surgery in Comal County.
“Things are moving forward at that facility and I’m confident they will continue to do so,” Beeler said.
He began his career as an administrative resident at Santa Rosa in 1973. He was an executive his entire career, starting as executive vice president of Incarnate Word Health Services. He moved on to be chief operating officer at a Christus facility in Beaumont and served as CEO of Christus St. Michael’s in Texarkana for eight years before taking his current position in 2003.
“Don has left a remarkable legacy of commitment to our mission and values, always focusing on what’s right for the patient,” said Sadau in a press release. “He has displayed values-driven leadership and the highest level of integrity throughout his career.”
Beeler said he looked forward to retirement, and taking a more active role as a volunteer and in his church.
“There are so many things that I’ve wanted to be more involved in and just haven’t had the time,” he said. “It will be nice to really be able to focus on those things and embark upon another chapter of my life.”
