Marsh expects to be active in community

Mark Marsh begins work as president and chief executive officer of Owensboro Health on Monday.

He replaces Greg Strahan, who is retiring after five years in that position.

On Thursday morning, Marsh told the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce’s final virtual Rooster Booster Breakfast that he plans to be very involved in the community.

The monthly breakfasts return to being live events at the Owensboro Convention Center on July 1.

Marsh, a Cincinnati native who graduated from Western Kentucky University, said he wants to see the hospital continue to expand its services so more patients can get the care they need at home without leaving the community.

“There is no reason why we can’t expand,” he said.

Marsh said he wants the hospital to be both “a great place to work” and to “ensure high-quality care.”

For the past five years, he has been president of Health Central Hospital in Orlando, Florida.

During those years, Marsh expanded the heart program and opened new cancer and rehabilitation centers there.

Last January, he opened Horizon West — a six-story hospital in Orange County, Florida.

Prior to moving to Orlando, Marsh was CEO of Gateway Medical Center in Clarksville, Tennessee; Greenview Regional Hospital in Bowling Green; and Marshall Medical Center in Lewisburg, Tennessee.

He has worked in health care for 25 years.

Owensboro Health, Marsh said, is “a very vibrant part of the community.”

He said he plans to be “very approachable” and have “high visibility” in the community.

Marsh said he plans to spend his first 90 to 120 days in Owensboro on a listening tour with the hospital’s staff and with members of the community.

The former college quarterback said it’s “important to cultivate a team relationship with the community and the staff.”

He said he plans to arrive in Owensboro this weekend.

His wife, Julie, and their children will join him in the middle of the month, Marsh said.

By Keith Lawrence, Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer