Heartland Health President and CEO Dr. Mark Laney gave some of St. Joseph a chance to get to know him Friday morning, at the St. Joseph Area Chamber of Commerce’s 2009 Fall Chairman’s Breakfast.

Dr. Laney shared some about both his personal and professional background, recounting experiences such as those he had during the years he spent working as a pediatrician.

“I’ve witnessed the glory and beauty of curing or saving a child,” he said, adding that he’s also had to deliver bad news to parents, such as that their child had cerebral palsy or was going to die. “It’s those things that have made me the physician I am today. ... If you really have a heart, they change you forever.”

He noted, too, that by understanding him, people would be able to better understand how he makes decisions. One decision he spoke about was his decision to move into health care administration, because he knew that if medical professionals don’t pursue such positions, “we’re going to have a bunch of decisions made by insurance people and government folks who have never been on the front lines,” he said.

Before coming to Heartland in August, Dr. Laney was president of Cook Children’s Physician Network in Fort Worth, Texas, one of the best pediatric groups in America, he said. But he noted that after two months here, he’s impressed by Heartland, as well.

“We’re blessed in that Heartland’s not a broken system,” he said. “It’s very, very good.”

Dr. Laney backed this up by mentioning national safety, quality and value rankings and awards Heartland has received and added that going forward, his goals for Heartland include benchmarking it against the top hospitals in the nation, as well as recruiting and retaining top physicians, being honest and transparent and practicing servant leadership.

And when it comes to health care reform, he said that due to being vertically integrated, Heartland is “better positioned than most places to weather the storm.”

He also noted that from what he’s seen, St. Joseph can be its own worst critic — but that he’s also seen a lot of dedicated citizens.

“There’s power to positive leadership,” Dr. Laney said. “It’s a blessing to be here, and it’s a blessing to serve.”

Erin Wisdom can be reached

at ewisdom@npgco.com.