How do you view this opportunity to lead a brand-new hospital?

I think it’s a great opportunity for Mercy to meet the needs of the community. I think it has a great opportunity to define what a community hospital is. … I think we have yet to share our story, and that will be one of my primary goals, to share that story, with the assistance of the physicians and the caregivers here.

Has having Iowa Health just across the street been a challenge?

I think both hospitals are still in the position of defining their roles. Both have the goal to meet the community’s needs. We have different physician partnerships. I think collectively, we can both meet the needs of the community without overlapping.

What have been the challenges in opening a new facility?

Opening a new facility, we’ve been very conscious of the dollars that are spent and utilizing the resources already available. Just like building a new house, there are facility issues that you look at; you may make some minor changes. And there are flow processes that you may look at to see if they’re the most efficient. As we continue to grow in volume, the challenge will be to staff appropriately so that the patient gets excellent care while we are very conscious of the dollars that are spent on care.

What’s your favorite part of the job?

It’s the people. I am leaving a wonderful family at Dallas County Hospital, and I hope to build that same sort of family atmosphere. I believe our commodity is service, and you can’t have service without people. The way to excellent patient care is that the employees feel valued and that it’s a privilege to come to work every day. It’s a very demanding job, very emotional at times, and how do we support that? And that’s where the greatest reward is as well.

What are you most concerned about regarding health-care reform?

Number one would most definitely be reimbursements, how hospitals will be paid in the future. I think we are beginning to define “accountable care organizations” and what that truly means for us in the future. I am very supportive of access to health care for all. I think that with reform we will have even greater opportunities to build partnerships with physician groups, the rural hospitals surrounding our communities and (through) the full integration of care with electronic health records.

Tell me about your family.

I am married to Kevin Conner; we’ve been married for 20 years. He works at John Deere Credit in Johnston. I have one stepson, Jeff, who is a minister in Minnesota, and three step-grandchildren. And we have a dog named Charlie Brown, and he truly acts like it.

What do you enjoy doing outside of work?

We travel. We actually both ride motorcycles. We take the motorcycles on trips around the United States. We just got back from a trip to Colorado; we went to Yellowstone. We actually met on RAGBRAI; we both rode bicycles for years and traded those for motorcycles. They’re actually easier! We’ve been riding probably six or seven years. I go to the annual Harley Owner Group (HOG) Rally, but I don’t go to Sturgis or any of those. My husband does.

Personal goals?

I have driven back and forth to Perry for 10 years, so one of my personal goals in coming back to Des Moines is to, number one, be more involved in my church. And for the past few years, I’ve had a goal to read the (entire) Bible every year, and I’m on track to do that. And I would like to start researching to get my doctorate. I’m not sure what it will be in yet.