Boone Hospital Center chief retires

Mike Shirk, president of Boone Hospital Center, announced his retirement Monday in a memo to hospital employees, volunteers and physicians.

Shirk, who worked at the hospital for more than 23 years, became president in 1993. During that time, he managed more than 2,000 employees and elected board members.

When Shirk began working for Boone County Hospital in 1982, it provided health care mainly to those within the county. Shirk has witnessed and implemented many changes that have emphasized patients as customers. Boone Hospital Center now serves patients from a 25-county area in mid-Missouri, said Lynn Hostetler of the hospital’s media relations.

Shirk is particularly proud of two awards the hospital received this year. It was named a Solucient Top 100 hospital in the nation by Modern Healthcare magazine.

It also received the highest honor from The American Nurses Association, being named a Magnet Hospital. Boone Hospital is among only nine other hospitals in the nation to receive both awards.

Shirk said in his memo that he plans to remain with the hospital and BJC Healthcare, his employer, until the end of the year. Recruitment for his successor is being done by BJC Healthcare and the Boone Hospital Board of Trustees.