Keynote Speakers
John Heer
President and CEO
North Mississippi Health Services
John Heer joined Tupelo-based North Mississippi Health Services (NMHS) as president and CEO in July 2004. Since then, he restructured the corporate board governance to be more transparent, open and responsive to the communities it serves. He reorganized the leadership structure according to service lines, initiating a servant leadership philosophy. Heer focused on connecting with the community, and improving communication with employees, physicians and the Board. He hardwired several leadership systems to enhance alignment and deployment throughout the organization. Heer lead the organization in its quest for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.
Before joining NMHS, Heer worked with Baptist Healthcare Corporation in Pensacola, where he served as president from 2001 to 2004, and as senior vice president and administrator from 1999 to 2000. Under his direction, Baptist was on Fortune's "Best Companies in America to Work For" list for three consecutive years and in the top one percent of the hospitals in the Press Ganey Customer Service Database - the largest customer service measurement company in the nation. Baptist received the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in 2003.
Heer was also the chief operating officer at St. Bernard’s Regional Medical Center in Jonesboro, Arkansas; CEO and administrator at Dekalb General Hospital in Smithville, Tennessee; and assistant administrator at HCA Hospitals in Monroe, Louisiana, and Ocala, Florida.
