Published on June 11, 2021
Owensboro Health names new president and chief executive officer
Owensboro Health has named Mark Marsh — a healthcare executive who has led hospitals in Kentucky, Tennessee and Florida — as its next president and chief executive officer. Marsh, who will succeed outgoing president and chief executive officer Greg Strahan, began his new role with Owensboro Health on June 7.
Since 2016, Marsh has served as president of Health Central Hospital in Orlando, Florida—part of the Orlando Health system—where he expanded the heart program, achieved national recognition for quality and opened new cancer and rehabilitation centers. Last January, he opened Horizon West—a new, six-story hospital in Orange County. His 25-year executive career also includes CEO tenures at Gateway Medical Center in Clarksville, Tennessee; Greenview Regional Hospital in Bowling Green, Kentucky; and Marshall Medical Center in Lewisburg, Tennessee.
Mark Marsh, President and CEO
“Throughout his career, Mark has led healthcare organizations to achieve outstanding success, and he is the perfect fit to continue our momentum at Owensboro Health,” said Jeff Carpenter, chairman of the Owensboro Health Board of Directors, which led the search. “Mark will set an engaging vision for our team, build strong relationships, and be actively involved in the communities we serve.”
The hiring of Marsh concludes an extensive national search that began last August, when Strahan announced plans to retire after five years at the helm. Strahan has continued to lead the organization during the Board’s search for his successor—a time period that has seen the addition of a third hospital (Owensboro Health Twin Lakes Medical Center), the COVID-19 pandemic crisis and development of a successful vaccination clinic, and a recent upgrade of the Moody’s bond rating to Baa2 stable.
“I am grateful for the board’s patience and diligence in finding the right candidate for Owensboro Health,” Strahan said. “We have a strong foundation to build on, and I have great confidence in Mark’s ability to achieve even more success for our patients and communities in the future.”
Marsh is a native of Cincinnati and played quarterback for the Western Kentucky University football team that made the NCAA playoffs in both 1987 and 1988; he also played baseball for WKU. Marsh’s professional distinctions include the 2003 “Young Healthcare Executive of the Year” in Tennessee, awarded by the American College of Healthcare Executives, and the WKU Distinguished Service Medal in 2009. He will be joined in Owensboro by his wife Julie and their three children, Clay, Elizabeth and Austin.
“I am very excited about this opportunity and look forward to building on the incredible history of Owensboro Health,” Marsh said. “I will be dedicated to working alongside the Board, physicians, team members, volunteers and community leaders to ensure we continue to provide the best care possible to our patients.”
About Owensboro Health
Owensboro Health is a nonprofit health system with a mission to heal the sick and to improve the health of the communities it serves in Kentucky and Indiana. The system includes Owensboro Health Regional Hospital, nationally recognized for design, architecture and engineering; Owensboro Health Muhlenberg Community Hospital; Owensboro Health Twin Lakes Medical Center; the Owensboro Health Medical Group comprised of over 350 providers at more than 30 locations; three outpatient Healthplex facilities, a certified medical fitness facility, the Healthpark; a weight management program, and the Mitchell Memorial Cancer Center.
On average each year, we have more than 19,000 inpatient admissions, deliver 2,000 babies and provide the region’s only Level III NICU. Owensboro Health physicians perform nearly 33,000 surgical procedures, including nearly 150 open-heart surgeries. Our physicians and staff have 90,000 Emergency Department visits and more than 1.25 million outpatient visits annually. Visit our home page for more information.