Brendan Johnson Named AdventHealth Ottawa President and CEO

OTTAWA, Kan., November 11, 2024 — AdventHealth Ottawa has named Brendan Johnson its new president and chief executive officer, effective January 20, 2025. Johnson is transitioning to AdventHealth Ottawa from his role as senior vice president and chief human resources officer with Adventist HealthCare in Gaithersburg, Md.

“We’re pleased to welcome Brendan, an experienced leader in faith-based care, to join our Ottawa community in the new year,” said Sam Huenergardt, president and chief executive officer of AdventHealth Mid-America Region. “Not only is he strongly aligned with our mission and vision, but he is a dedicated healthcare leader who is eager to make a positive impact on the health and wellness of the Ottawa community.”

With nearly 20 years of experience in the health care industry, Johnson began his career as an executive resident at AdventHealth Porter in Denver, Colo., and served in progressive roles as manager of business operations, orthopedic and spine service line leader and director of revenue management in AdventHealth’s Rocky Mountain Region. He joined Adventist HealthCare in 2015 as the associate vice president of human resources.

“It’s my honor to join the AdventHealth team in Kansas as we advance the mission of extending Christ’s healing ministry to the diverse communities we serve,” said Johnson. “I look forward to building and strengthening relationships across the Franklin County community and working with the great leaders and team at AdventHealth Ottawa to support patients.”

Johnson earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Union Adventist University in Lincoln, Neb., and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Colorado Denver. He has served on the Maryland Hospital Association’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisory Group and Task Force on Maryland’s Future Health Workforce, in addition to serving as chair of the human resources division of the Healthcare Council.

Johnson’s new role comes at an exciting time for AdventHealth Ottawa, having recently celebrated some important additional milestones, including:

• AdventHealth Ottawa recently received an ‘A’ grade from the Leapfrog Group. The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade is the only hospital ratings program based exclusively on hospital prevention of medical errors and harm to patients.
• AdventHealth Ottawa Health Park completed a $5.2 million expansion and renovation, bringing a new behavioral health program and outpatient cardiology and pulmonology services to the complex that already houses primary care, internal medicine, pediatric, neurology, sleep medicine and rheumatology services. This expansion also included a renovation of the Sports Medicine and Rehab annex space.
• The AdventHealth Ottawa Emergency Department has achieved Geriatric accreditation from the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP). This ACEP accreditation solidifies AdventHealth Ottawa as an institution with a reputation for delivering excellent geriatric patient care.
• AdventHealth Ottawa Chief Operating Officer Doug Rich received a Heart of Health Care Award from the Kansas Hospital Association for his advocacy in rural health initiatives and for helping build community services for Franklin County.
• AdventHealth Ottawa, in partnership with the AdventHealth Ottawa Foundation, teamed up with the national nonprofit organization Shoes That Fit to provide shoes for Franklin County elementary school students in need. In February, 1,149 students received a brand-new pair of name-brand athletic shoes along with five pairs of socks.

About AdventHealth Ottawa

AdventHealth Ottawa is a 44‐bed acute care facility that delivers a wide range of inpatient, outpatient and surgical health care services across Franklin County and its surrounding areas. AdventHealth Ottawa provides whole-person care for every stage of life and health with a presence in the community lasting more than 80 years. In May 2019 Ransom Memorial Health became AdventHealth Ottawa, joining AdventHealth’s connected system of care comprised of nearly 50 hospital campuses and hundreds of care sites in diverse markets throughout almost a dozen states. With a sacred mission of Extending the Healing Ministry of Christ, AdventHealth is a connected system of care with more than 80,000 skilled and compassionate caregivers in physician practices, hospitals, outpatient clinics, skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies and hospice centers provide individualized, wholistic care.