Hospital hires director of mission integration

Hospital hires director of mission integration

Scott Opperman. Courtesy Mercy Health

There's a new director of mission integration at a local hospital.

Scott Opperman started the role at Mercy Health Saint Mary’s in Grand Rapids last month.

Opperman has a dual reporting relationship to Mercy Health Saint Mary's Interim President Dr. David Baumgartner and Michael Sanderl, chief mission officer for Mercy Health and the Saint Joseph Mercy Health System.

Opperman is a member of the Mercy Health Saint Mary's senior leadership team, providing strategic and operational leadership and integrating the mission, values and Catholic identity into Mercy Health's strategic plan and operations. This covers workplace spirituality, ministry formation, clinical and organizational ethics, spiritual care, integration of mission and core values into operational areas and collaborative relationships in the community, including the Diocese of Grand Rapids.

He is also a member of the Michigan Mission Council, a newly created council of all mission integration leaders for Livonia-based Trinity Health, the parent of Mercy Health and the Saint Joseph Mercy Health System.

"Scott is very passionate about issues related to our mission, core values and our Catholic sensibilities," Baumgartner said. "We look forward to his thoughtful presence and ability to listen and serve as both contributor and key collaborator across various parts of our ministry."

Opperman brings over a decade of experience in higher education, including positions in campus ministry and residential life at Durham University in the U.K., the University of Dallas and University of Notre Dame.

He has also taught philosophy, ministry and theology at Durham University, St. Cuthbert Catholic Seminary in the U.K. and the University of Dallas.

He has two master's degrees, one in religious education from Loyola University of Chicago and one in theological studies from the University of Notre Dame.