By unanimous vote last evening, the Great Plains Health Board of Directors has appointed Mel McNea, MHA, to serve as the new chief executive officer to lead the health system. McNea will begin his role immediately.

In April, the board hired Community Hospital Corporation to assist in the CEO search process. The eight-month search brought a total of 45 candidates from across the nation.

“We were very pleased with the caliber of applicants we had for the position,” said David Pederson, Great Plains Health board president. “In the end, our decision came down to who could take our organization to the next level. Mel undoubtedly possesses the vision and values that we expect of a CEO. He brings consistency and stability to an organization that is moving rapidly on many fronts.”

McNea joined Great Plains Health in 1987 as the director of diagnostic imaging, leading the radiology department through tremendous growth in volume and changes in technology and process improvement. He was selected for the prestigious Caring Kind award by the Nebraska Hospital Association in 1998. In 2004 he was promoted to vice president of operations, and he was promoted again in 2009 to chief operating officer. He has served as interim CEO twice — once in 2008 and again in 2014.

“Mel has led the Great Plains Health system through a period of unprecedented growth and expansion. His leadership has produced many successful projects, including the addition of a heart and vascular program, the $100 million patient tower construction project scheduled for completion in August, the development of the Great Plains Physician Network, a spine surgery center and the first mobile CT program in western Nebraska,” said Pederson.