Executive team
Ivan Mitchell, FACHE, MHA, MPA, chief executive officer, is responsible for leading the health system.
He previously served as chief operations officer at Great Plains Health for six years.
Prior to relocating to North Platte, Mitchell served as CEO at Towner County Medical Center in Cando, North Dakota; administrative director at Jefferson Regional Medical Center in Pine Bluff, Arkansas; and radiology and cardiology service manager at Intermountain Park City Medical Center in Park City, Utah.
He received a bachelor of science degree in nuclear medicine from Weber State University in Ogden, Utah, and a dual master's degree in public administration and healthcare administration from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.
Mitchell is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE), and certified as a nursing home administrator (NHA) and nuclear medicine technologist (CNMT).
He is active in the North Platte community, serving on the North Platte Public School Board, the North Platte Economic Development Committee and the North Platte Housing Task Force.
Dr. Koduri is a board-certified psychiatrist. He attended medical school at Rangaraya Medical College in Kakinadam India, and completed his residency at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Danelle Franzen, MBA, MLS (ASCP), is responsible for the overall operations of the health system and is responsible for seeing that the organization’s strategic objectives are carried out through its daily activities. Before assuming this position in 2022, Franzen served as chief provider network officer for two years. In that role, Franzen lead the provider network, a division of Great Plains Health that creates a unified physician group working together to ensure that quality healthcare is available and accessible throughout the North Platte region.
She began her healthcare career as a medical laboratory technician at Great Plains Health and has had several positions of increasing responsibility in laboratory and management. During her tenure, she was instrumental in the implementation of automated instrumentation to improve productivity and efficiency within the Great Plains Health Laboratory.
Franzen earned a master's degree in business administration from Bellevue University in Bellevue, Nebraska. She earned a bachelor's degree in clinical laboratory science from Weber State University in Ogden, Utah, and an associate's degree from Mid-Plains Community College in North Platte.
Department responsibilities
- All GPHealth-owned clinics at the North Platte Health Pavilion
- Great Plains Health General Surgery
- Great Plains Health Orthopaedics
- Great Plains Health Wound Healing Center
- Great Plains Family Medicine
- Hospitalist program
Brandon Kelliher was selected in November 2015 as Great Plains Health's Chief Information Officer (CIO). Kelliher serves as a principal adviser to physicians and leadership with respect to the strategic use of technology, information management, information assurance and security, clinical data sharing activities management, technology governance, policy and operations. Kelliher led the electronic medical record conversion to Epic in the clinics in 2016 and in the hospital in 2018.
Prior to his selection as CIO, Kelliher served as the senior director of information services for Great Plains Health.
During his career, Kelliher has held several leadership roles in the information technology and healthcare administration fields. He has nearly 20 years of experience in the planning, development, delivery and monitoring of technical solutions that address the needs of his customers in support of their missions.
Kelliher obtained his MBA from Phoenix University, has held leadership roles in several local service organizations and is a certified instructor for the John Maxwell leadership organization.
Department responsibilities
- Information systems
- Biomedical
Summer Owen, MBA, chief financial officer, is responsible for driving and overseeing financial performance at Great Plains Health.
Owen has 18 years of experience in healthcare finance, including eight years in a chief financial officer role with LifePoint Health in Fort Morgan, Colo.
In her previous role, Owen led financial and support operations for a 50 acute bed hospital, geriatric behavioral health unit, home care agency and multi-specialty physician group with multiple outreach locations.
Owen’s specialties include operations management, budgeting, capital planning and cost containment.
Owen holds a master of business administration degree in finance and accounting from Regis University and a bachelor of science degree in business from the University of Phoenix. She is also a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives and Healthcare Financial Management Association.
Department responsibilities
- Accounting
- Revenue cycle
- Patient access
- Patient financial services
- Support services
- Nutrition services
- Environmental services
- Laundry
- Great Plains Home Care Equipment
Megan McGown, MSOM, is charged with growing service line and clinic volumes, developing staff (including front line, leadership and physicians) and improving access at consumer entrance points throughout the organization.
As chief development officer, she provides administrative leadership and oversight to strategic planning, business development, marketing and public relations, outreach, education, telehealth, government affairs, transfer hotline, communication center and the community health needs assessment.
McGown began working for Great Plains Health in 2018 as the director of marketing. Prior to her position Great Plains Health, McGown spent the past fifteen years of her career in community and economic development, where she served in various capacities working with communities in Nebraska including North Platte and Sidney on business recruitment, retention and downtown redevelopment.
McGown attended the University of Nebraska-Kearney, where she received her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice/pre-law and a graduate degree in organization management-economic development from Peru State College.
McGown remains active in the North Platte community serving on the North Platte Area Chamber and Development Board of Directors and as chairman of the North Platte Area Parks, Recreation and Wellness Foundation.
Department responsibilities
- Outreach and business development
- Strategic planning
- Marketing and public relations
- Telehealth
- Transfer hotline and communication center
- Education
- Diabetes management
- Government relations
- Community Health Needs Assessment
- Great Plains Health Care Foundation
Barb Petersen, DNP, MSN, APRN-BC, chief quality officer, is responsible for ensuring the clinical and operational oversight of quality, patient satisfaction, infection control, best practice and regulation integrity.
Petersen has 30 years of clinical experience in the North Platte community that extends to emergency medicine, family medicine, pain management, cardiology, stroke, orthopaedics and quality.
Petersen earned her doctorate of nursing degree from Creighton University, and her master's degree in nursing with a family nurse practitioner specialty from Clarkson College in Omaha. Petersen received her bachelor's in nursing from Midland Lutheran College and is certified as a professional in healthcare quality by the National Association of Healthcare Quality.
Petersen was instrumental in establishing Great Plains Health's first Joint Commission-certified stroke program, joint replacement program and certified bariatric program. Petersen facilitates accreditation, regulatory oversight, and risk management for all services at Great Plains Health.
Department responsibilities
- Quality department
- Risk management
- Infection control
- Stroke program
- Trauma coordination
Tina Pate, MSN, RN, CEN, leads the nursing areas of Great Plains Health, ensuring quality care from our nursing team.
Tina began her career at Great Plains Health in 2013 as the stroke coordinator. From there, she was promoted to medical/surgical clinic manager and then on to critical care manager. Tina became the senior director of nursing in 2017.
Prior to her employment at Great Plains Health, Tina worked as an emergency room nurse, charge nurse and then clinical coordinator at Memorial Hospital – University of Colorado Health in Colorado Springs, Colo. Her final role with this organization was stroke coordinator.
Tina earned her BSN from the University of Phoenix and her master’s degree in nursing from Grand Canyon University.
Department responsibilities
- Women's and children's division (second floor GPWest)
- Intensive care, progressive care units (third floor GPWest)
- Medical / surgical unit (fourth floor GPWest)
- Behavioral Health (fifth floor GPWest)
- Home health and Hospice
- House supervisors
Senior leadership team
Lance Arterburn is the senior director of compliance.
Marcia Baumann, vice president of physician services, is responsible for all physician recruitment and retention and medical credentialing services. Baumann has been with Great Plains Health for more than 20 years and has recruited well over 100 physicians to the North Platte area. She does so out of a passion for the community and the belief in the health system. Her focus is on finding the right candidate and the right fit for the organization.
Baumann earned her master's of education degree with an emphasis in business and her bachelor's in education from the University of Nebraska in Lincoln.
During her time with Great Plains Health, Baumann has held a number of interim positions, including executive director of the North Platte Nebraska Physician Group, and the vice president of development. Baumann is an active member of the North Platte community, most currently, serving on the Mid Plains Community College Foundation Board.
Before joining Great Plains Health, she was the office administrator for a law office in North Platte and an instructor in business at two Nebraska high schools.
Department responsibilities
- Physician recruitment
- Medical staff services
- Medical staff credentialing
Andrea Eaton, executive director of the Great Plains Health Innovation Network, is responsible for collaborating with local physicians in the interest of improving the quality and value of care as part of a clinically integrated network.
In the role of GPHIN executive director, Andrea works with the physicians on the GPHIN board and three GPHIN committees to negotiate contracts with payers, track and review quality measures and plan education and communication to help ensure GPHIN’s success in value-based care.
Andrea’s career at Great Plains Health began in 2005 as a senior accountant. Since then, she has progressed through the organization and held the positions of senior decision support analyst, clinical business intelligence analyst and manager of clinical transformation. She assumed her current role in November 2019.
Andrea earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Nipissing University in North Bay, Ontario, Canada.
Department responsibilities
- Great Plains Health Innovation Network
- Accountable care organization
- Care coordination
Amy Hayes, MBA, senior director of revenue cycle services, joined Great Plains Health in 2022.
Amy began her healthcare career in 1982 with a large internal medicine group. She has held multiple executive-level positions throughout her career. She has been a business owner and executive consultant to multiple facilities and clinics over the past 15 years, focusing on revenue cycle integrity, documentation education and compliance, auditing and leading organizational change.
Amy holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree and Bachelor of Science degree in business from Regis University. She also holds credentials from AHIMA as a certified coder for both outpatient and inpatient services. Amy is also a certified healthcare auditor through American Institute of Compliance.
Department responsibilities
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Central scheduling
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Pre-registration
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Patient access hospital and clinics
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Case management
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Patient prescription assistance
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Financial counseling and financial assistance
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Health information management
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Coding
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Clinical documentation improvement
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Medicaid eligibility assistance
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Insurance billing and collection hospital and clinics
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Patient billing and collections hospitals and clinic
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Revenue integrity
Keaton Hope is the senior director of the provider network at Great Plains Health. Keaton began his career at Great Plains Health in 2017 as the administrative business coordinator, coordinating and executing on special projects for the clinically integrated network and nursing administration.
In 2019, he moved to the orthopaedic service line as their clinic manager and gained the neurosurgery service line in 2021. As a clinic manager, Keaton was responsible for all aspects of operations for each service line and coordinated between the outpatient, ambulatory and inpatient settings to maintain positive patient experiences throughout the patient encounter.
Keaton worked his way to the senior director role mid-2021, where he leads the provider network alongside the chief provider network officer to ensure quality healthcare is available and accessible through the provider-driven clinics and service offerings.
Keaton received dual bachelor’s degrees in health & human performance and sports management from Bellevue University prior to earning a Master’s of Business Administration from Bellevue University as well.
Department responsibilities
- All GPHealth-owned clinics at the North Platte Health Pavilion
- Great Plains Health General Surgery
- Great Plains Health Orthopaedics
- Great Plains Health Wound Healing Center
- Great Plains Family Medicine
- Great Plains Urgent Care
- Hospitalist program
Misti M. Hutchison, MSN, RN, is the senior director of nursing at Great Plains Health and is responsible for leading the inpatient departments at the hospital. Misti began her career at GPHealth in 2006 in labor and delivery. Since then, she has held multiple roles, including house supervisor and director of emergency services.
While she served as the director of emergency services, Misti’s guidance led to significant improvements in patient experience and employee engagement. Misti also helped drive a $15-million remodel and expansion of the emergency department, which was completed on time and nine percent under budget.
In 2021, Misti received the Regent’s Award from the American College of Healthcare Executives, an organization of which she is a member. She is also an active member of the Nebraska Nurses Association and Emergency Nurses Association. Misti has served on various Great Plains Health committees over the last 15 years.
Misti earned her Master of Science in nursing degree with a focus in executive leadership from Chamberlin College of Nursing, where she received her Bachelor of Science in nursing degree, as well. She obtained an associate’s degree in nursing from Mid-Plains Community College.
Department responsibilities
- Women’s and children’s
- Medical/Surgical
- Intensive care unit (ICU)/Progressive care unit (PCU)
- Emergency department
Jayne Johnson is the Senior Director of Human Resources at Great Plains Health. Jayne began her career at GPHealth in 1993 in behavior health services and also worked in med/surg, renal and peritoneal dialysis case management. In 1996, she moved to the role of medical social worker for home health and hospice. Her journey in human resources began in 2005, when she became the recruitment coordinator. Jayne worked her way to manager in 2011 and became the senior director in 2013.
She is the current president of Community Connections, serves as a member of End of Life Coalition, on advisory boards for Lutheran Family Services, the Surgery Center board, North Platte High School business partners, Lincoln county guardianship committee and numerous GPHealth committees over the last 26 years.
Jayne received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Chadron State College and her Masters of Social Work from the University of Nebraska-Omaha.
Monica Lynch is the senior director of Finance at Great Plains Health. Monica began her career at GPHealth in 2012 as the accounting manager. In 2013, Monica was promoted to the director of accounting leading the accounting team and overseeing all function including payroll, AP, subsidiaries and regulatory reporting. In 2017, Monica continued her journey at GPHealth to become the senior director of finance. In this role, she works closely with the CFO and senior leadership to direct financial strategies and planning processes. Responsibilities include oversight of accounting functions, budgeting, decision support and treasury management.
Monica has more than 30 year of accounting experience extending from various industries including construction, agriculture, manufacturing, and utility before joining health care at Great Plains Health.
Monica received her Bachelor of Science degree from Iowa State University.
Lori Schoenholz, MSN, RN, is the senior director of nursing informatics at Great Plains Health. Lori works with the information systems team, physicians and the nursing team to ensure successful use, maximum application and optimal deployment of EPIC, the electronic medical record system that is used throughout the Great Plains Health system.
Lori has more than 30 years of nursing experience extending from long-term care, dialysis, acute care, home visitation, clinical informatics and clinical consulting. In addition, she has spent 15 years of her career in leadership roles serving as a chief nursing officer in two organizations.
Lori obtained her nursing diploma from Mary Lanning Hospital School of Nursing in Hastings, Neb., her Bachelor of Science in nursing from Chamberlain College of Nursing and her Master of Science in nursing degree from Walden University.
Department responsibilities
- Epic clinical support
Wendy Ward BSN, RN, HACP, is the director of patient safety and risk management at Great Plains Health. She is the clinical patient safety officer for both inpatient and outpatient clinical settings. Wendy is responsible for clinical data abstractors, disease registry and all insurance and litigation cases for GPHealth.
Wendy also has a black belt in Lean Six Sigma to assists the organization for process improvements. She works in collaboration with local law enforcement and the county attorney for any patient safety or community needs.
Wendy has 16 years of experience as a nurse with a background in OB-GYN and has worked at Great Plains Health for the past five years in her current role. She has recently completed her certificate for Healthcare Accreditation Certified Professional.
Wendy earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing through the Chamberlain College of Nursing in St. Louis, MO.