Owensboro Health Regional Hospital Celebrates 10 Years

By Freddie Bourne, Messenger-Inquirer

It was in October 2003 when Owensboro Mercy changed its name to the Owensboro Medical Health System, before the groundbreaking of a new facility seven years later. In 2013, following another name change, Owensboro Health Regional Hospital officially opened, moving from its former location on Parrish Avenue to Pleasant Valley Road.

On June 1, the nine-story facility and campus hit its 10-year anniversary.

For Mark Marsh, president and chief executive officer of Owensboro Health, it’s a milestone worth recognizing. “It’s certainly a humbling honor,” he said. “The hospital is so impressive, and I’ll say thank goodness for the leadership, the board, the community, the county and city for having that great vision. “That vision and the forethought to know that we needed to expand healthcare to really support not (just) Daviess County, but 17 counties in the western part of the state — I applaud them.”

The hospital’s grand opening sparked additional growth and impact the region. Within the last decade, two hospitals — Owensboro Health Muhlenberg Community Hospital in Greenville and Owensboro Health Twin Lakes Medical Center in Leitchfield — were added to the health system along with three outpatient Healthplex facilities and a surgical weight loss center and program.

The hospital has also made big strides in patient experience, technology and medical advancements, Marsh said. Those things helped the hospital and organization become recognized beyond Owensboro and Daviess County.

“If you look at the advancements we made (for) quality patient care access and just the overall outcomes … (and) you bring it all together under the unity that we did — that’s why we are really looked at as a regional health system now,” he said. “We’re able to now deliver some of the greatest, high-quality care that you can see, not just throughout the region, but throughout the state.”

Marsh started with the health system in June 2021, which was a pivotal time with the constant changes in the medical field worldwide due to the coronavirus pandemic and the workforce seeing some challenges, such as burnout, along with supply chain issues.

But even during the time of uncertainty, the facility was set up to help patients and staff combat the virus. “I think that building really … was a great tool to lead the fight against COVID,” said Brian Hamby, director of marketing for Owensboro Health, who was present during the facility’s opening in 2013. “The way it was constructed, having the building built the way it is, made it … much more fluid for us to make adjustments, to adjust patient flow, to devote units to treatment of COVID. “It really lent itself to being a regional resource and center for helping the community to weather the pandemic.” Marsh is appreciative of all the team members throughout who helped during a time where things were very unpredictable.

“We were trying to figure it out like everybody else, based on what we were getting from the CDC and (the health department),” he said. “I really applaud the group here … and really trying to be the voice, and at least trying to keep people informed and educated as best we could. “I will give a lot of accolades to those frontline team members who were in trenches everyday, in some (cases) …risking their lives, to care for their loved ones in their community.”

Regarding the future of the facility and the health system, Marsh is looking forward to “advancing the needle.” “We just … want to be the best we can,” he said. “We hope that we are going to be on a journey to be a top 100 health system … because we want to be the best health system we possibly can so that people can have trust and confidence — so when they need health care, they’re not looking outside of Owensboro Health.

“Either we’re going to care for you, or if there’s something beyond our scope, we’re going to make sure that we get you in the right place with the right providers.”