Visalia-Hanford Area, California, United States, December 2025 — Marc Mertz has been selected by the Board of Directors as the new Chief Executive Officer of Kaweah Health, becoming only the fifth CEO in the health system’s 60+ year history. He succeeds Gary Herbst, who has been a transformative leader—serving more than eight years as CEO and 26 years as CFO—leaving Kaweah Health well-positioned for sustained growth, clinical excellence, and community trust.
As his new role commences in the coming weeks, Kaweah Health has also opened the search for a new Chief Strategy Officer, a senior leadership position responsible for strategic planning, business development, physician recruitment, marketing, community engagement, and several operational divisions.
Before being named CEO, Marc Mertz served as VP/Chief Strategy Officer at Kaweah Health for over seven years, overseeing strategic planning, business development, patient experience, marketing, communications, government affairs, physician relations, performance improvement, facilities, and environmental services. He played a key role on the senior executive team, contributed to systemwide quality and financial performance, and even served as Acting CEO during the CEO’s sabbatical. His leadership has significantly strengthened Kaweah Health’s position as California’s largest healthcare district.
Prior to joining Kaweah Health, Marc spent nearly ten years at GE Healthcare Partners as Vice President, where he led the national Physician Services Practice for one of the country’s largest healthcare consulting organizations. His work included strategic partnerships, hospital–physician alignment, operational transformation, mergers and acquisitions, patient access, and value-based compensation initiatives, serving clients across the United States and abroad.
Earlier, Marc served as Owner of Med-Track, a CRM solution built specifically for healthcare organizations focused on physician partnerships. He also served as President of Health Check Incorporated, overseeing multi-state managed care auditing operations with responsibilities across IT, HR, finance, sales, quality assurance, and client reporting—developing broad expertise in healthcare operations and executive management.
Marc began his career with The Horizon Group, where over eight years he grew into a senior leadership role overseeing consulting delivery, business development, and nationwide advisory support across medical group operations, billing, reimbursement, practice management, and strategic planning. This early foundation solidified his deep understanding of healthcare systems, physician practice performance, and organizational design.
Kaweah Health is a publicly owned community health system serving the Visalia region and Tulare County. With more than 5,000 employees and over 700 medical staff, the organization delivers a full continuum of care through hospitals, specialty centers, multi-specialty clinics, behavioral health services, skilled nursing facilities, and the region’s leading Medicare Advantage plan.
Recognized by HealthGrades as one of America’s Top 100 Hospitals and a Top 50 Cardiac Surgery Program for multiple consecutive years, Kaweah Health remains committed to delivering high-quality, innovative, and accessible care to its growing community.
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