Brian Canfield, MHA, MBA, MA, FACHE will become President/Chief Executive Officer, Blessing Health, upon the October 6, 2023 retirement of Maureen Kahn.

Blessing Health System consists of Blessing and Illini Community Hospitals, Hannibal Clinic, a provider group and network of rural health clinics, college of nursing and health sciences, charitable foundation and durable medical equipment/biomedical/linen services business. Blessing serves west central Illinois, northeast Missouri and southeast Iowa with an employee team of nearly 4,000.

Upon her retirement, Kahn will have served 22 years with Blessing Health. She began her tenure in 2001 as Blessing Hospital’s Senior Vice President/Chief Nursing Officer. Kahn then became the President/Chief Executive Officer of Blessing Hospital in 2005, and in 2014 she became the President/Chief Executive Officer of Blessing Health and Blessing Hospital.
Canfield joined Blessing in December 2021 as Chief Operating Officer of Blessing Health and became Blessing Hospital President in August 2022.

“The promotion of the Blessing Hospital president to the President/CEO of Blessing Health is an element of the Blessing leadership succession plan,” said Tim Koontz, chairman, Board of Trustees, Blessing Corporate Services. “We could not ask for a better leader to follow Maureen Kahn than Brian Canfield.”

Canfield came to Blessing after nine years as chief operating officer at First Health of The Carolinas and Moore Regional Hospital, Pinehurst, North Carolina, where he was responsible for three acute care hospitals totaling 509 beds, a critical access hospital, and a staff of 4,500 employees and 950 volunteers.

Prior to that, Canfield served for 28 years in the United States Army and Department of Defense. His last assignment was as CEO/Commanding Officer of Womack Army Medical Center, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He was the first non-physician selected to command the 340-bed-capable tertiary care teaching hospital with eight multi-specialty ambulatory care and primary care medical home clinics serving a community of more than 185,000 patients. Prior to this assignment, Canfield served in Afghanistan where he was responsible for planning, coordination and synchronization of 12 hospitals, 32 clinics, 14 forward surgical teams, and all ground and air medical evacuation resources in Afghanistan for over a half-million US military and partner nation forces.

Canfield holds a Masters of Healthcare Administration degree, a Masters of Business Administration degree and a Master’s degree in National Security and Strategic Studies. He is also a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives.

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