FaithSearch Partners is pleased to announce the selection of Michael Knecht, MBA, M.Div., as Kansas City-based Shawnee Mission Health’s new Chief Operating Officer.
In this role, Knecht will oversee the organization’s major operational functions, specifically, meeting financial, quality, operational and customer service goals within most of the medical center’s operations. He will be charged with cultivating an environment characterized by sustainable and continuously improving teamwork, accountability, and high levels of patient satisfaction.
“Michael has proven he can establish and maintain the culture SMH wants to continue developing, as well as achieve the high-level goals SMH has set for its leadership,” said Jim Boyle, Senior Vice President at FaithSearch Partners. “Based on the impact he has made in his previous roles, we think Michael will be a great fit for SMH.”
Knecht most recently served as Vice President, Patient Experience at Loma Linda University Medical Center in Murrieta, Calif., where he participated in a performance improvement plan that saved $12 million in operations, redesigned the on-board and department integration process for new hires, and developed a leadership structure centered on the patient experience.
Founded in 1962, Shawnee Mission Health has the largest medical staff of any Kansas City area hospital, with nearly 700 physicians on staff and 2800 employees. In 2013, the 504-bed acute care hospital opened an additional 100,000 square foot $42.5 million Birthing Center and delivers the most babies of any hospital in Kansas City. The system also includes a Critical Care Services Expansion and an outpatient facility.
