Lawrence Memorial Hospital CEO and leadership

Johnson joined LMH Health as President and Chief Executive Officer on August 1, 2016. A seasoned health care executive with 30 years of successful senior leadership in hospitals and health systems, he previously served as Senior Vice President of Network Development and Outreach with the Centura Health System in Englewood, Colorado.

He grew up in Merriam, Kansas, graduating from Shawnee Mission Northwest High School, and still has strong family ties to the area. He began his health care career in 1984 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he was an assistant administrator and administrative fellow for a 540-bed regional medical center. He also served as vice president of operations for VHA Iowa before returning to the Kansas City area in 1989 to become assistant administrator of operations for Saint Luke’s Northland, a position he held for eight years. He was chief operating officer for Edinburg Regional Medical Center, a 169-bed hospital in Edinburg, Texas, from 1997 to 2000. He then served as the CEO for San Luis Valley Regional Medical Center in Alamosa, Colorado, for 12 years.

Johnson is active in many professional, civic and community organizations. He served 12 years on the Board of Directors for the Colorado Hospital Association and was a board member for the American Hospital Association for three years. In 2007 he was awarded the American Hospital Association’s Shirley Ann Munroe Leadership Award, which recognizes the accomplishments of a small or rural hospital leader who has improved health care delivery in their communities through innovative and progressive efforts. He also received the Rural Healthcare Excellence Award by the Colorado Rural Health Center in 2007 and was the Colorado AHA Grassroots Champion for 2008.

He is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and a Rotary International Paul Harris Fellow. He received a bachelor’s degree in management and economics from the University of Tulsa, Tulsa, Oklahoma, and a master’s degree in health care administration from Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri.

Colleen Browne joined LMH Health in 2019 as the Director of Compensation and Benefits before being named Vice President and Chief People Officer. In addition to overseeing the Human Resources, Education and Learning Services and Volunteer Services, Colleen provides executive oversight for LMH Health’s efforts to improve inclusion, diversity and equity, as well as employee experience and wellness. She has wide and varied professional HR experiences in the financial, public utility, governmental, commercial transportation and consulting service sectors.

A resident of Leawood, Colleen holds a master’s degree in human resources development and organizational design from Pittsburg State and a bachelor’s in human resources from the University of Kansas. Colleen currently serves on the boards of the Women’s Employment Network and the Child Protection Center. She has also been active in many other civic and professional organizations.

Cartwright joined LMH Health in December 2019 as Chief Financial Officer. She came to the organization with over twenty years of healthcare financial leadership experience in hospitals, medical group practices and other ambulatory settings. She most recently served for five years as regional CFO for Prime Healthcare Services with responsibility for the finances of four Kansas City area hospitals, related ambulatory surgery centers, and medical groups (St. Joseph Medical Center in Kansas City, MO; St. Mary’s Medical Center in Blue Springs, MO; Providence Medical Center in Kansas City, KS; and Saint John Hospital in Leavenworth, KS). Prior to joining Prime Healthcare Services, Deb served for six years as the CFO of Via Christi Health in southeast Kansas and two years as the CFO for St. Francis Health in Topeka.

She is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and a fellow in the Healthcare Financial Management Association. Cartwright is a Certified Practice Management Executive in the Medical Group Management Association. Passionate about improving the United States healthcare system, Cartwright is a Lean/Six Sigma Black Belt in Healthcare and speaks nationally on sustainable healthcare practices. She earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Missouri State University, a master’s degree in business and healthcare administration from Southwest Baptist University and is a certified public accountant.

Hoopingarner, who joined LMH Health in 2011 as the Director of the Family Birthing Center and Pediatrics, was promoted in 2017 to Chief Nursing Officer. She has been a registered nurse since 1985 and has been in leadership roles since 1994. Hoopingarner grew up in western Kansas, and before coming to LMH Health she held leadership roles at Lifepoint Hospital in Dodge City, where her accomplishments included the creation of a prenatal clinic for indigent patients and a free-standing birthing center. At LMH Health, she led the efforts behind the Family Birthing Center’s designation as Kansas’ first High Five Hospital for support of breastfeeding. Hoopingarner, who has a master of science degree, also is certified in inpatient obstetrics and fetal monitoring.

Cassidy Dixon is a Chief Clinical Intern at Lawrence Memorial Hospital and is based in Lawrence, Kansas Area. She attended University of Kansas between 2013 and 2018, Maize South High School between 2009 and 2013, and University of Kansas between 2016 and 2020.