Denny DeNarvaez, President and CEO
Margaret “Denny” DeNarvaez is president and CEO of Wellmont Health System. Ms. DeNarvaez is an accomplished executive with nearly 30 years of healthcare experience.
Prior to assuming the top leadership role at Wellmont, she served as CEO of St. John’s Mercy Health Care, which includes hospitals in St. Louis and Washington, Mo. Ms. DeNarvaez also provided leadership for Mercy’s extensive operations in Missouri and Oklahoma, encompassing more than 2,200 licensed beds, nearly 15,000 employees and nearly 3,000 physicians.
During her five-year tenure with the Mercy system, Ms. DeNarvaez refocused the organization on its mission, vision and values, led a multimillion-dollar financial turnaround, established a dedicated heart hospital and developed a physician clinical council to leverage the experience and judgment of physicians in operations and planning. Under her leadership, St. John’s Mercy was recognized as a “best place to work” by the St. Louis Business Journal and Modern Healthcare magazine.
She also previously served as president of Allina Hospitals and Clinics’ Abbott Northwestern Hospital – nationally recognized for clinical expertise in cardiac care through its renowned Minneapolis Heart Institute – in Minneapolis, Minn., and CEO and chief financial officer of Florida Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Known and recognized for her Healing Environment philosophy of patient care, she is bringing Wellmont's focus to bear on creating an atmosphere of healing for every Wellmont patient.
Ms. DeNarvaez is a graduate of Drake University in Fort Lauderdale, where she earned a bachelor’s degree of business administration in accounting. She is a certified public accountant and holds leadership certifications from the University of Michigan Business School in Ann Arbor and the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn.
She was the 2009 recipient of the Visionary Leadership Award from the Missouri Hospital Association and in 2007 was named one of the Top 25 most influential businesswomen by the St. Louis Business Journal.