Dean Gruner, MD, has served as president and CEO of ThedaCare, a five-hospital system in Appleton, Wis., since 2008.
Prior to becoming CEO of ThedaCare, Dr. Gruner was the system's senior vice president and CMO. He has been a part of ThedaCare since it was founded as Novus Health Group in 1987. Dr. Gruner was also one of the founding physicians of the Touchpoint health plan, which ThedaCare and the investing physicians sold to UnitedHealthcare in 2004.
During his time at ThedaCare, Dr. Gruner has helped the system grow and invest in its employees. In 2011, ThedaCare was named as one of CMS' Pioneer accountable care organizations in partnership with Bellin Health Care in Madison, Wis.
Dr. Gruner has also instilled a "no layoff" philosophy at ThedaCare. "With this as a philosophy, layoffs are our absolutely last choice," Dr. Gruner told Becker's Hospital Review in a previous interview. "We believe we can make some improvements instead of laying people off and invest in retaining those people so they can perform capably."
Dr. Gruner received his medical degree from the University of Minnesota Medical School in Minneapolis.
In recognition of his history of strong leadership, Becker's Hospital Review named Dr. Gruner to its 2012 list of 300 Hospital and Health System Leaders to Know.
If you have additional information or updates for this profile, or would like to recommend a leader to be profiled in the future, please contact Lindsey Dunn, editor in chief, Becker's Hospital Review at ldunn@beckershealthcare.com.
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Prior to becoming CEO of ThedaCare, Dr. Gruner was the system's senior vice president and CMO. He has been a part of ThedaCare since it was founded as Novus Health Group in 1987. Dr. Gruner was also one of the founding physicians of the Touchpoint health plan, which ThedaCare and the investing physicians sold to UnitedHealthcare in 2004.
During his time at ThedaCare, Dr. Gruner has helped the system grow and invest in its employees. In 2011, ThedaCare was named as one of CMS' Pioneer accountable care organizations in partnership with Bellin Health Care in Madison, Wis.
Dr. Gruner has also instilled a "no layoff" philosophy at ThedaCare. "With this as a philosophy, layoffs are our absolutely last choice," Dr. Gruner told Becker's Hospital Review in a previous interview. "We believe we can make some improvements instead of laying people off and invest in retaining those people so they can perform capably."
Dr. Gruner received his medical degree from the University of Minnesota Medical School in Minneapolis.
In recognition of his history of strong leadership, Becker's Hospital Review named Dr. Gruner to its 2012 list of 300 Hospital and Health System Leaders to Know.
If you have additional information or updates for this profile, or would like to recommend a leader to be profiled in the future, please contact Lindsey Dunn, editor in chief, Becker's Hospital Review at ldunn@beckershealthcare.com.
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