MURRAY, KY – Murray-Calloway County Hospital officially announces that president and CEO Jerry Penner, FACHE, is retiring in 2025 after 14 years of dedicated service. He will step down on March 31, 2025.

During his tenure at MCCH, Mr. Penner led many initiatives and successfully added new providers and innovative service lines, acquired new physician practices and led the construction and fundraising efforts of the Anna Mae Owen Residential Hospice House. He piloted the Hospital Incident Command System team through a once in a lifetime COVID-19 global pandemic all while establishing a new, highly successful Interventional Cardiology program that completed 300 procedures in 2020 and over 2,000 procedures to date.  He spearheaded construction of the $15M Regional Cancer Center completed in August 2023 that has impacted so many people in Calloway and the surrounding counties.  Under Penner’s leadership, the hospital has set record numbers for organization-wide patient satisfaction (94), dramatically increased access to primary care and specialty services, and modernized equipment and facilities throughout the organization.  Staff satisfaction hit its peak in 2024, climbing from the 29^th to the 72^nd percentile as the financial strength of the hospital tripled, raising days cash on hand from 67 to 200 days that further led to the highest historical bond rating of the hospital to BBB with a positive outlook.

Active with community and state organizations, Mr. Penner served with the Murray Rotary Club, Chamber of Commerce, Angel’s Clinic Board, was a member and later president of the Murray State University Alumni Association, and was trustee on the Kentucky Hospital Association Board closing out his tenure as Chair and Immediate Past Chair.  On May 22, 2022, he was awarded the KHA Award of Excellence for his timely coordination and response to Mayfield’s hospital within minutes following the devastating December 2021 tornado.  He has served his local fraternity, Pi Kappa Alpha, as advisor since 2012, and was selected as Pi Kappa Alpha International Advisor of the Year in 2016.  For the past two years, he has served as a board member, Oaks Country Club, where he currently serves as President.

A 1978 graduate of North Hardin High School in Radcliff, he earned his bachelor’s degree in biology at Murray State University, a master’s in healthcare administration from Baylor University in Waco, Texas and an M.S. in strategic studies, U.S. Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania.