When the position of President and CEO of Broadlawns Medical Center first became available, Proctor Lureman turned it down.
It wasn’t the right time to apply, he said, but when the position of senior administrator at Des Moines Public Hospital opened up earlier this year, he decided to give it a try.
“This is the right job and the right time for me,” Lureman said. “The mission of this organization and the population it serves aligns with who I am.”
Lureman took the helm as CEO on July 15 and now leads the 200-bed hospital, which employs more than 200 physicians and medical professionals and 1,200 medical and other staff. He replaces former Broadlawns CEO Anthony Coleman, who resigned after two years as top administrator.
Broadlawns treats hundreds of thousands of patients at its facilities each year. The hospital reported more than 275,000 outpatient visits and more than 24,000 emergency department visits in fiscal year 2023.
The annual budget for the last fiscal year is $275 million. Revenues include over $75 million from property taxes and payments from public and private health insurance programs.
Lureman’s annual salary is $550,000, according to a copy of his three-year contract with Broadlawns. He is also eligible for a performance bonus of up to $100,000 per fiscal year, according to the contract, which was provided to the Register.
Who is Proctor Lureman?
Lureman, 56, grew up in Newton and graduated from Newton High School. He received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration from Drake University.
After earning his master’s degree, Lureman sought a job in hospital administration at UnityPoint Health, then known as Iowa Health. He had decided to pursue a career in healthcare as a teenager after witnessing his father being treated when he struggled with significant health complications.
Lureman currently has a 25-year career in hospital operations and physician practice management, most recently serving as vice president of operations for UnityPoint Health-Des Moines before being hired as a senior administrator at Broadlawns.
Lureman selected as CEO after nationwide search
Broadlawns conducted a national search for a new CEO earlier this year and received more than 100 applications for the position.
The selection committee – which included hospital staff, community representatives and board members – narrowed the pool to six top candidates, said Dave Miglin, chairman of the Broadlawns Board of Trustees. Two candidates were invited for in-person interviews.
Miglin said Lureman understands Broadlawns’ role in the Des Moines area. As a social safety net hospital for Polk County, Broadlawns specializes in providing care to vulnerable populations, such as low-income people, those without health insurance, and refugees and immigrants. The majority of patients rely on Medicaid or Medicare for their health insurance.
“We wanted someone who understood our mission very well, and we also wanted someone who really fit our culture,” Miglin said. “We teach here, we serve a special part of our community, especially our immigrant population. So when you think about all the different types of people that come through here, we knew we needed someone with a servant’s heart.”
What are the top priorities for Broadlawns’ new CEO?
Since taking the helm last month, Lureman has been working to reevaluate the hospital’s five-year plan. He said because most of the leadership team members are new, they need to develop a plan to ensure the team sticks to its goals. But he said it’s too early to say whether he foresees major changes in the hospital’s strategic direction.
Looking ahead to his future priorities as CEO, Lureman said he wants to continue to strengthen the work Broadlawns is already doing, including working to recruit and retain physicians and other health care professionals in Iowa. Broadlawn’s family medicine program already has a 70% retention rate and has resulted in physicians working in 51 counties across the state.
He also pointed to the hospital’s 44-bed psychiatric unit and Broadlawn’s plans to open a crisis observation center and sobering unit in the near future.
“I want to continue doing things like this. There’s a lot of momentum here and really good leadership, so it’s about continuing and strengthening that work.”
Officials say Broadlawns is already making a huge impact in Iowa, noting that all of their services, including medical, surgical, dental and mental health care, reach patients in 97 of Iowa’s 99 counties.
Lureman said he believes Broadlawns can expand that reach through the use of telemedicine.
“We have some of the best mental health systems in the state,” Lureman said. “Could we have rural hospitals and clinics served by the experts at Broadlawns? I think that’s probably doable.”
But the new CEO also hopes to continue to improve access to local medical and mental health care by locating those services as close to patients as possible. Lureman pointed to a new clinic Broadlawns recently opened in the Drake neighborhood as an example of the model he hopes to replicate in specific neighborhoods across the metropolis.
Miglin reiterated those priorities and said he expects Broadlawns, under Lureman’s leadership, will continue to fill health care gaps in Des Moines and the wider region.
“We want to create a model that the state embraces, and I think it is,” he said. “You see, the more our legislators learn about what’s happening here and the impact it’s having on their communities, the more receptive they’re going to be to it.”
Michaela Ramm covers health care for the Des Moines Register. Reach her at [email protected], (319) 339-7354 or on Twitter at @Michaela_Ramm.
