Newbold completes tenure, Gruber appointed Beacon CEO

Beacon Health System Chief Executive Officer Phil Newbold today announced he is stepping down from his current position on Nov. 1. The Board of Directors appointed Beacon’s Chief Operating Officer, Kreg Gruber, to take his place.

Newbold has served as CEO for 30 years and will remain at Beacon until the end of the year to provide transitional support.

“It has been an honor and privilege to work alongside such a remarkable team,” Newbold said. “This is the beginning of a new chapter. I plan to continue my work with innovation and improving the health and well-being for organizations and communities, and would like to share what I’ve learned as a CEO with future generations of leaders.”

Newbold is recognized as one of the most innovative health care leaders in the country, while remaining committed to health initiatives in the local communities served by Beacon. The health system was created under his leadership through the affiliation of Memorial Hospital and Elkhart General Hospital in 2011.

During Newbold’s tenure:

• Beacon established one of the first hospital tithing policies in the country.
• Beacon became the first Indiana hospital to join the Mayo Clinic Care Network, allowing local physicians to collaborate with Mayo specialists.
• Beacon Children’s Hospital completed a $50 million expansion in downtown South Bend, incorporating an advanced single-family room NICU model that is new to the U.S., encouraging parents to bond with their premature babies.
• More than 1,000 business and community leaders have taken innovation and leadership development courses at the Pfeil Innovation Center.
• Memorial HealthWorks! Kids’ Museum opened a health education center in South Bend with the model replicated in St. Louis and Tupelo, Miss.
• Beacon purchased Madison Center and renamed it Memorial Epworth, to ensure the continuation of inpatient psychiatric services in the region.
• Beacon Health & Fitness opened medically based, full-service fitness centers in South Bend and Granger and began construction on an Elkhart location, which included an innovative public-private partnership that will also bring a state-of-the-art aquatics center to the community.
• Elkhart General Hospital completed an $83 million surgery center expansion.
• Memorial introduced the first and only MedFlight service in the region, and became the region’s only designated Level II Trauma Center.
• Beacon became the only health system in Indiana to offer the Ornish Lifestyle Medicine™ Program for reversing heart disease.

“After 30 years of dedicated leadership, we find ourselves grateful for Phil’s steady influence,” said Dan Morrison, Chairman of the Beacon Board of Directors. “He has uplifted the potential of the organization, overseen the expansion of more sophisticated and quality health care in our region, and fostered an environment where creative thinking regularly leads to innovation.”

The board anticipates a smooth transition, he said, because Beacon has long been committed to a strong leadership development culture across the health system.

“The full board completed a very thorough and thoughtful process to select our next CEO,” Morrison said. “Outstanding succession planning ensures us that under Kreg’s leadership, the health system will continue its tradition of excellence, high quality and innovative spirit.”

As preparation for his role as CEO, Gruber has served as President of Memorial Hospital, President of Elkhart General Hospital, President of Beacon Medical Group, and most recently as Chief Operating Officer of Beacon Health System. He moved to the South Bend area and joined Memorial Hospital in 2006.

“Phil’s influence on this region is profound,” Gruber said. “In addition to raising the bar on the level of care we provide, he has also worked to uplift the economic health of the community. We are grateful that Phil and his wife, Mary, have chosen to remain here and continue to serve and lead. His legacy will be felt for a long time.”

To read more about Phil’s legacy at Beacon Health System, click here.

To learn more about Kreg Gruber, click here.

About Beacon Health System

Beacon Health System is the nonprofit parent organization of Elkhart General Hospital, Memorial Hospital of South Bend, and the 350-provider Beacon Medical Group and is the largest, locally owned health system in the region. Together, Elkhart General Hospital and Memorial Hospital of South Bend employ more than 7,000 team members and volunteers and are staffed by nearly 1,000 physicians. For more information, visit www.BeaconHealthSystem.org.