St. Louis-based Ascension is making changes at the top of its organization.
CEO Joseph Impicciche will retire at the end of the year after more than 20 years of service to Catholic healthcare and Ascension with a veteran system executive named to succeed him, the health system confirmed June 24.
Mr. Impicciche will continue as CEO through 2025 and remain engaged during the transition period. Ascension President Eduardo Conrado will assume the role of CEO, effective Jan. 1.
“Joe has guided Ascension through some of the most challenging and transformative moments in our history,” Stan Starnes, chairman of Ascension’s board of directors, said in a news release. “His steady leadership, moral clarity and deep commitment to our mission have strengthened our ability to serve those most in need while driving innovation and meaningful change across Catholic healthcare. We are deeply grateful for his service.”
The leadership change is significant for Ascension, one of the nation’s largest nonprofit and Catholic health systems. The organization spans 16 states and the District of Columbia and includes approximately 99,000 associates, 23,000 aligned providers, 94 wholly owned or consolidated hospitals, and ownership interests in 27 additional hospitals through partnerships.
Mr. Impicciche has served as CEO of Ascension since 2019. He served as president and CEO until Mr. Conrado became president in 2023.
Ascension pointed to a number of achievements during Mr. Impicciche’s tenure, such as the organization strengthening its advocacy voice, launching community-focused initiatives and playing a key role in national conversations on drug affordability and community safety.
Mr. Impicciche’s leadership is also marked by expansion efforts, including the organization’s recent agreement to acquire AmSurg, an ASC operator with more than 250 facilities across 34 states.
Mr. Impicciche, who served on the board of the American Hospital Association and as chairperson of the Catholic Health Association, also championed the creation of the Ascension Foundation, which aims to address the non-medical needs that diminish health.
“Serving this ministry has been one of the greatest honors of my life,” he said in the release. “What gives me hope for the future is not that the work will be easy, but that I have seen what is possible when Mission-driven people come together. …
“As I conclude this chapter, I am filled with gratitude for the opportunity to walk alongside so many dedicated associates, caregivers and an exceptional leadership team whose partnership, support and friendship have meant more than I can express. I have every confidence in Eduardo as he carries our mission forward with purpose, integrity and a clear vision for what compassionate, personalized care can be.”
Mr. Conrado joined Ascension in 2018 as executive vice president and chief digital officer. He later served as chief strategy and innovation officer before assuming his current role as president.
He is credited with helping to lead transformation in care delivery, digital infrastructure and consumer engagement at the organization. Mr. Conrado, who served on Ascension’s board prior to joining the executive team and currently serves on the boards of the Catholic Health Association and ArcBest Corp., is also credited with implementing a new operating model, reducing reliance on contract labor, accelerating portfolio transformation investments to expand ambulatory and pharmacy services, and launching the Ascension One app to simplify patient engagement.
“Eduardo brings a forward-looking vision that reflects both a deep understanding of where healthcare is headed and a strong commitment to the mission that defines Ascension,” Mr. Starnes said. “He has spent years helping shape our strategy, strengthen our operations and lead through times of complexity and change. The board has full confidence that he is the right leader for this next chapter — one that will require clarity, compassion and a continued focus on serving all, especially those most in need.”
“I’m feeling great,” Mr. Conrado told Becker’s on June 24. “Joe and I have been planning this transition for a while. The part that I like about it — it should be a very smooth transition from one CEO to the next — just because Joe and I have been working on the strategy, on the team itself, jointly selecting the management team. You’ll see some continuity as we transition, and then as part of the strategy of the capital deployment, as you saw from that AmSurg announcement last week.
“So I’m feeling good. … When Joe and I had a call with the officers of the company today, we said we had been planning this for a while, and it should be a seamless transition when we do the handover at the end of the year.”
As CEO, Mr. Conrado said he will focus on continuing to improve the organization in terms of key differentiators such as quality and safety, and patient experience. He also plans to focus on strategy and continuing to invest in the future.
“You saw the AmSurg move, which is increasing our ambulatory presence in the surgery centers. But internally, we’ve also been communicating $2 billion investments in our current sites of care,” Mr. Conrado said. “That’s refreshing our buildings, medical equipment — so a big push on updates on our sites of care over the next two years. We’re doing both — expanding through acquisition and refreshing our current sites — which our associates, our clinicians and our patients are going to feel.”
Additionally, he plans to continue Mr. Impicciche’s work in focusing the organization around its mission.
“Joe’s done a great job in terms of focusing the organization around the mission, and that’s going to continue,” he said. “And part of what I’ve been working on is how do we improve access to Medicaid and uninsured populations? How do we use Dispensary of Hope for medication adherence and for some of the needs that those populations have? And then just reduce the utilization on the emergency rooms, on avoidable ED visits. And I think that ties back into the access strategy.
“So a lot of it is to continue to implement, speed up some of the things that we’ve been putting in place in our strategy. It’s accelerating the execution, and then commitment to the path that we have already set on. That’s a key with the associates — a lot of times they think it’s a disruption. And to us, there’s not a change of direction, but more of a deepening commitment of what we’re doing — and just do it faster and better.”
As president, Mr. Conrado has three regional operating officers who report to him, and the operational leadership will remain the same during the transition.
