Hill Country Memorial Board of Trustees announced today that they have named current HCM CEO Jayne Pope, RN, MBA, FACHE as the CEO of Create Healthy, the legacy entity which will be formed when Hill Country Memorial becomes part of Methodist Healthcare of San Antonio on April 1, 2023. Create Healthy is comprised of the Wellness Center and Thrift Store and will be responsible for maintaining the covenants of the sale agreement with Methodist. Create Healthy will also partner with the HCM Foundation to support and advance health in the Hill Country. Pope will remain at the hospital for a transition period and will assume the role of Create Healthy CEO on May 1, 2023.

Pope accepts the role of CEO of Create Healthy after successfully navigating HCM through one of the most challenging decades in the history of rural healthcare.

Prior to accepting the position of CEO Hill Country Memorial in 2013, Pope served as Chief Nursing Officer at HCM. Hill Country Memorial has been an 8 year recipient of the TOP 100 Hospital Award during her tenure as CNO and CEO. Formerly, Pope was the CEO of Clinic Systems at a large network of clinics in Central Texas, which she led in achieving the highest level of Patient Centered Medical Home recognition. Prior to her role there, Pope served as the CNO for St. David’s Georgetown. Pope holds a Master of Business Administration from The University of Western Ontario Ivey Business School and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from The University of Western Ontario.

HCM Board Chair, Jenny Wieser said, “When the HCM Board of Trustees evaluated the needs for the legacy entity and core competencies of the CEO role, Jayne Pope was the obvious and ideal candidate to lead Create Healthy and ensure a seamless transition for our legacy entity. Jayne has a strong track record of improving quality and health locally, she has been a leader who has always looked at the strategy map and consistently delivered solid balanced scorecard results. She never wavered on delivering remarkable and never settled for good enough. These are the attributes we need in the leader at Create Healthy.”

It was also announced that Clint Kotal will assume the role of CEO for Hill Country Memorial when it joins Methodist Healthcare as Methodist Hospital | Hill Country. Kotal currently serves as Hill Country Memorial’s chief health integration officer and will assume the role upon completion of the transaction, effective April 1.

Kotal has served as chief health integration officer for Hill Country Memorial and since 2017 has had multiple roles including executive leadership for the HCM Medical Group, HCM Home Care and Hospice, and Facilities. Under his leadership the HCM Medical Group has expanded its services through the addition of six new and replacement clinic locations and the recruitment of 13 physicians across the region. Additionally, quality and experience results in the Medical Group and Post-Acute services has increased to top quartile performance during his tenure.

The leadership announcements come following the announcement of Hill Country Memorial’s acquisition by Methodist Healthcare San Antonio, which is on track to be completed at the end of March.