Faith Regional Health Services CEO and leadership

Brian Blecher received his Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing from Midland Lutheran College in 1994. He received his Masters of Healthcare Administration from Bellevue University in 2015. Mr. Blecher worked as a Nurse Tech and Registered Nurse at Immanuel Medical Center before coming to Faith Regional in 1996. At Faith Regional, Blecher began his career as an RN in ICU and Heart Catheterization/Interventional Radiology before becoming manager of the Cath Lab, IR Lab, Radiology Nurses, and Cardiac/Pulmonary Rehabilitation. Since 2009, he has served as Executive Director of Employee Wellness, Cardiac & Vascular Services, Radiology, Cardiopulmonary Services, and Emergency Medicine before accepting the role of Chief Transformation Officer and Network Development in 2017. In addition to this role, Blecher began serving as the Chief Operating Officer of Faith Regional Physician Services in 2019.

Mr. Blecher is married and has three children.

Brian Sterud has served as Chief Information Officer at Faith Regional Health Services since 2012. He came to Faith Regional from Brookings Health Systems where he was the Director of Information Management since 2008. Before this, Sterud had built a strong knowledge of the technology and regulatory needs through his experiences in banking and as a consultant.

Sterud received his Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from South Dakota State University in Brookings, SD in 2001. In 2011, he graduated from CIO Boot Camp at the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives. Sterud is a Certified Healthcare CIO and Certified Professional in Healthcare Information and Management Systems. He received his Masters of Business Administration degree (MBA) with specialization in Health Services Administration in 2014 from the University of South Dakota, in Vermillion, SD. He is a Fellow of both the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) as well as the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS). In 2020, Sterud also became a Certified Healthcare Information Security Leader (CHISL). To achieve CHISL status, Sterud was a member of AEHIS, had at least 3 years of experience in a qualified healthcare information security position, participated in programs and events that continued his education as a security leader and passed a rigorous exam.

Mr. Sterud is married and has two children.

Connie Rupp received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Master of Science in Nursing Executive Leadership from the University of Nebraska Medical Center, College of Nursing. She was also the recipient of the Charlotte Burgess Award for Outstanding Master’s Graduate. Since 2007, she has held management positions including Unit Director for the Birth and Infant Care Center/NICU/Pediatrics; the Interim Vice President of Patient Care Services/Chief Nursing Officer and the Vice President of Patient Care Services/Chief Nursing Officer with Regional West Medical Center in Scottsbluff, Nebraska.

In 2017, Rupp accepted the role of Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer at Faith Regional Health Services. Working collaboratively with an engaged team, she is leading initiatives to transform nursing care at Faith Regional through consistency and alignment using standardized tools and approaches. This investment by the team has resulted in many quality metric improvements and accolades.

Rupp currently serves as the Nebraska Organization of Nurse Leaders (NONL) District 2 President.

Mrs. Rupp is married and has three children and 1 grandchild.

Jim Sinek is a President/Chief Executive Officer at Faith Regional Health Services.