Mike Huerter, Vice President of Operations, Ascension Technologies, recently participated on a panel discussing how to prepare military veterans for civilian healthcare leadership roles. The panel was part of a meeting of the American College of Healthcare Executives of Middle Tennessee (ACHEMT). ACHEMT Board President Anna Pannier serves as Senior Director for Ascension Technologies.
Mike, a retired colonel who served in U.S. Joint Special Operations, told attendees that he had little experience in healthcare during his military career, but he had experience building large multidisciplinary, high-performing teams. Growing up playing football as a receiver in Texas, then at West Point, he is comfortable being challenged to improve each day and serving with groups of people who strive for excellence, he said.
He served in both Iraq and Afghanistan before and after completing his master’s degree at the U.S. Army War College. After his ninth combat tour while serving in the Joint Special Operations Command, Mike finished his career as the Assistant Chief of Staff, Director of Operations at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. In 2018, Mike retired after a 28-year military career in which he earned four Bronze Stars and multiple awards for military achievement and humanitarian service.
His civilian transition started with a call and then an interview for a position at Ascension Technologies in St. Louis, where Mike now lives and serves.
He told meeting participants that Ascension’s Mission-based and Values-focused foundation were important to him. He recently was called to lead Ascension's participation in the Veteran Career Transition Assistance Program, created to help veterans not allowed to re-enlist during the U.S. Army's downsizing to access civilian jobs in Alabama, Florida and Georgia.
