1. Christus Trinity Mother Frances Health System announces new CEO and President
2. Christus Trinity Mother Frances Hospital to break ground onmulti-million dollar tower and garage expansion
3. Christus Trinity Mother Frances executive Lindsey Bradley to retire

Christus Trinity Mother Frances Hospital soon will begin a $90 million expansion project, adding a new emergency room and ICU beds to the hospital at South Beckham Avenue and East Dawson Street.

That expansion will be led by Chris Glenney, the new president and CEO of Christus Trinity Mother Frances Health System.

Glenney, who has been part of the system since 1998, replaces Lindsey Bradley, who is moving to a position as senior vice president for group operations for Christus Health. Bradley also will serve as CEO of Christus Health Northeast, which includes the group’s Tyler hospitals, Christus Good Shepherd Medical Center-Longview and Christus Good Shepherd Medical Center-Marshall, as well as Christus St. Michael Health Texarkana.

“We have a tremendous amount of growth opportunities,” Glenney said in an interview on Wednesday.

That will include not just the addition of existing medical groups, such as the Christus Trinity Mother Frances Hospital in Sulphur Springs, but also that expansion at the Tyler hospital.

“It’s a pretty significant project,” Glenney said. “It will be a new tower, at about $90 million, and it will be where the existing parking garage is. We’ll take that down, build the tower, and then add another parking garage adjacent to that. It will be about a two-and-a-half year project.”

Adding facilities means adding staff, Glenney said.

“We’re recruiting for all of our locations, and we’re expanding in a lot of places,” he said. “That’s everything from doctors to support staff.”

The health group has a good record of success in recruiting top doctors, Glenney said.

“Physicians want to be part of an organization where they have some autonomy, where they can practice the kind of medicine they trained for,” he said. “They want to be where they have the best equipment, great facilities, and staff with a positive attitude. We have little trouble finding excellent physicians.”

Recruiting support staff is a challenge, but Tyler is a good location for that, he said.

“We’re blessed to have so many universities and junior colleges that produce a tremendous number of nurses and allied health professionals,” Glenney said. “And we get to know them when they work with us in their training, and it’s very common for them to come work for us as soon as they graduate.”

The hospital system will also add IT staff as it expands.

“Those are just more jobs for Tyler,” he said.

Glenney said he’s not unsettled by the national debate over the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

“I think frankly, health care reimbursement has been unstable throughout my career, and we’ve seen change about every two or three years,” he said. “We’re focusing on what’s important for our patients, which is access and quality and growth of services. Our strong belief is that no matter what happens with the (Affordable Care Act), health systems are going to be reimbursed based on quality of services. We’re working to reduce costs and eliminate waste, and being the most efficient health system in Northeast Texas.”

Glenney earned his undergraduate degree in Biomedical Sciences from Texas A&M University in College Station before completing his master’s degree in Health Care Administration from Trinity University in San Antonio. Additionally, he is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Glenney has served as a volunteer for a number of area nonprofits, and as a coach and broadcaster for youth sports. He is a graduate of Leadership Tyler Class 24.

He’s not all about health care, of course. Glenney took a moment to comment on the other big personnel news of the day: the Dallas Cowboys releasing quarterback Tony Romo.

“I think Romo is a great quarterback and class act, and if I was an owner of a franchise, I’d be proud to have him,” Glenney said. “Still, I’m glad to have Dak Prescott in Dallas. He’s done a great job.”