MercyOne President and CEO Robert (Bob) Ritz has announced his retirement effective Jan. 2, 2026.

Ritz first joined MercyOne in 2013 as president of what was then Mercy Des Moines Hospital. He led the organization as the hospital system grew across the state. In 2017 Ritz was appointed CEO of Mercy Health Network, which would later be re-branded as MercyOne, co-owned by CommonSpirit Health and Trinity Health.

Ritz led the system through the full ownership transfer to Trinity Health in 2022. At the same time, he worked with Trinity Health to complete the acquisition of Genesis Health System, now MercyOne Genesis, in the Quad Cities, making MercyOne one of the largest hospital systems in Iowa with 40 owned and affiliated hospitals and hundreds of clinics, a news release said. Across the health system, MercyOne provides more than 4 million patient visits per year and employing several thousand physicians, according to the release.

In the early months of the pandemic, Ritz also supported an agreement with Corteva Agriscience to use its laboratory technology to expand COVID-19 testing for MercyOne patients and the surrounding communities. The arrangement allowed MercyOne to increase and process testing from the volume handled in the MercyOne lab space alone.

“Health care is the most incredible profession, and I am so grateful to have seen so many trusted colleagues and physicians provide such compassionate care every day of my career,” Ritz said in a prepared statement. “I can think of no better place to end my 40 years in health care leadership than here at MercyOne, still embracing our mission to be a healing presence in our communities.”

Ritz and his wife are looking forward to spending more time with grandchildren and traveling. Trinity Health will begin recruiting for a new MercyOne leader in the coming months.