Mr. Barto became president and CEO of BJC Health in October 2025, taking the helm of one of the largest nonprofit healthcare organizations in the U.S. The system encompasses 24 hospitals, hundreds of clinics and service organizations, and $13 billion in net revenue, with 48,000 employees serving urban, suburban and rural communities across Missouri, southern Illinois, eastern Kansas and the greater Midwest. Systemwide in 2025, the system treated patients through nearly 4 million provider visits, more than 700,000 emergency department visits and over 170,000 surgeries, and welcomed almost 16,000 newborns, earning repeated recognition for clinical excellence and a culture of collaboration, community and belonging. Prior to becoming CEO, Mr. Barto served as system president and was instrumental in the 2024 merger of BJC and Saint Luke’s Health System of Kansas City, combining two organizations with more than a century of legacy each into a single integrated, academic and patient-centric health system. He led the renewal and expansion of BJC Health’s long-standing affiliation with Washington University Medicine for an additional 45 years, played a key role in launching the joint Center for Health AI, and spearheaded an agreement to expand pediatric care in southwest Missouri between St. Louis Children’s Hospital and CoxHealth in Springfield. He also advanced a joint venture with nonprofit KVC Missouri to address the region’s urgent pediatric mental health crisis via a new freestanding children’s behavioral health hospital, residential program and outpatient treatment center. He serves on the boards of the Missouri Hospital Association, Greater St. Louis, Cortex and BioSTL, and as a member of the Washington University board of trustees. He was named to the St. Louis Magazine “St. Louis Business 500” in 2026.
