OUTSTANDING CPA IN BUSINESS & INDUSTRY AWARD Russell R. Gronewold TODAY, NEARLY HALF OF THE Society’s current members do not practice public accounting but instead have careers as educators, in government, or in a variety of capacities in business and industry in Nebraska. One of those outstanding Society members is Russ Gronewold. Gronewold accepted the Society’s 2024 Outstanding CPA in Business and Industry Award during the NESCPA Annual Meeting on Oct. 29 at the Riverview Lodge at Mahoney State Park in Ashland. A Nebraska native, Gronewold is president and CEO of Bryan Health. He began his career as a CPA in the health care division of Arthur Andersen. He has been a member of the Nebraska Society of CPAs for 39 years and has more than 30 years of experience in the health care industry, including senior management positions with four different health systems working in the areas of finance, business development, operations, innovation, and managed care. In 2010, Gronewold became Bryan Health’s chief financial officer, where he envisioned and executed a physician-hospital organization (PHO) strategy that now includes 27 critical access hospitals and more than 1,500 providers. He was a member of a team that grew inpatient market share to more than 70% in its primary service area. In 2020, he was named Bryan’s CEO. Bryan Health is a Nebraska-governed, nonprofit health system with nearly 8,000 employees and more than 250,000 unique patients annually. It is the birthplace of Advance Trauma Life Support, has the largest cardiac program in Nebraska, a 100-year historical commitment to behavioral health, and is known for exemplary nursing and specialty care. Bryan Health is comprised of multiple entities, including Bryan Medical Center, with two hospitals in Lincoln and a new campus featuring the April Sampson Cancer Center; Kearney Regional Medical Center; Grand Island Regional Medical Center; Crete Area Medical Center; Merrick Medical Center; Bryan Physician Network; Bryan Heart; Bryan Foundation; Bryan Health Connect; and Bryan Enterprises. In addition, it operates the Bryan College of Health Sciences in both Lincoln and Hastings, with more than 750 students in its undergraduate, graduate, and completion programs. Newsweek named Bryan Health one of America’s Most Trustworthy Companies in 2023 and 2024. Gronewold holds a bachelor’s degree from Midland University and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He presently serves on the American Hospital Association (AHA) Board of Trustees and is chairman of AHA’s Regional Policy Board 6 and AHA’s Audit and Compliance Committee. Gronewold recently chaired the Nebraska Hospital Association and is on the board of several community organizations. He and his wife Jane love to visit their four children, and two grandchildren, scattered across the country. 2024 Award Winners 28 Nebraska CPA
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