Lovelace Medical Center and Heart Hospital of New Mexico at Lovelace Medical Center

Brian Miller

Bio

Brian brings more than 15 years of health care experience, most recently as vice president of operations at Baptist Health in Fort Smith, Arkansas. In his time with Baptist Health, Brian was responsible for the day-to-day operations, budget and patient care for two acute care facilities, with 592 licensed hospital beds, and more than 40 primary care and specialty clinics. Under his leadership, Baptist Health developed new service line strategies for oncology, women and children’s health, behavioral health and general medicine, resulting in 20% overall volume growth for the western region of Arkansas.

Brian earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering and a master’s degree in operations engineering from the University of Arkansas. He is a member of the Work Matters Institute and American College of Healthcare Executives.

David McGrail

Bio

David joins Lovelace Women's Hospital from Ardent’s sister facilities in Oklahoma (Okla.), Hillcrest Hospital Claremore and Hillcrest Hospital Pryor, where he served as CFO for both hospitals. While there, David led the Accounting, Revenue Cycle, Materials Management, Case Management/Patient Access, Health Information Management, Facilities, Environmental Services and Food Services departments. Under his leadership, the hospitals consistently met their performance goals.

Prior to his work with Hillcrest, David was the chief operating officer and chief financial officer for Cardiology Clinic of Muskogee in Muskogee, Okla., where he improved operating margins, days in accounts receivable and renegotiated health insurance for his clinic’s employees, keeping premiums flat while offering better coverage.

David received a bachelor of science degree in accounting from The Pennsylvania State University in University Park, Pa., as well as a bachelor of science degree in perfusion technology from Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, S.C. He also earned a masters of health administration degree from Seton Hall University in South Orange, N.J. He currently serves on the Finance Committees for My Health HIE and the Oklahoma Hospital Association and serves on the Hillcrest HealthCare System Diversity & Inclusion Committee.

 

Abigail Kendall

Bio

Abigail brings over 20 years of nursing experience, most recently serving as CNO at Lake Granbury Medical Center in Granbury, Texas. During her tenure, she guided this organization from a CMS 3 Star to a 4 Star rating, as well as improved its Leapfrog Hospital Safety grade from a C to an A. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Abigail provided clinical leadership, opening surge areas and accommodating a tripled ICU census. Under her direction, this facility also earned and maintained certification in Trauma Level IV, Texas Maternal Level II and Neonatal Level I, and received Perinatal, Total Joint and Bariatric designations from The Joint Commission. Prior to working for Lake Granbury Medical Center, Abigail was the director of nursing operations for Hillcrest Healthcare System-Hillcrest Medical Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she was responsible for daily operations/financial performance for inpatient wound, outpatient wound, infusion teams, staffing office, float pool, house supervisors, rapid response, transport, 6Tower and rehab nursing departments. Abigail earned a bachelor’s of science degree in nursing from the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, Texas. She received her masters of healthcare administration degree from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. She is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) and was named Ardent Health Services CNO of the Year in 2010.

Derrick Cuenca

Bio

Derrick Cuenca, chief executive officer of Lovelace Medical Center (LMC) and Heart Hospital of New Mexico at Lovelace Medical Center, came to Lovelace Health System in December of 2020.

LMC is the flagship hospital of the Lovelace Health System, dedicated to exceeding patients’ expectations and offering unparalleled health care. It offers New Mexico’s only Gamma Knife Center, specializing in non-invasive brain surgery. LMC is home to a state-of-the-art Cancer Care program, which features the state’s most advanced technology and most experienced team in the fight against cancer. It has also earned The Joint Commission’s certification as a Primary Stroke Center, as well as the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Gold Plus award for commitment to quality patient care.

Derrick brings considerable healthcare experience to this position, most recently serving as CEO of MountainView Regional Medical Center and MountainView Medical Group in Las Cruces, NM, where he was responsible for its 168-bed acute care hospital, a free-standing emergency department, three urgent care clinics, a multi-specialty physician group (120 providers), two joint venture ambulatory surgery centers and 1,600 employees. Derrick oversaw expansion of physician services and specialties, surgical services and the addition of operating rooms to accommodate community need. Finally, he led the executive team, directors and managers to drive operational/quality improvement, receiving the 2019 Quest for Excellence Award in the large hospital category from the New Mexico Hospital Association for advancing patient safety, performance improvement, and quality.

Prior to his role at MountainView, Derrick was CEO of Lake Granbury Medical Center (LGMC) and Lakeside Physicians in Granbury, TX, where he led 700 employees at the 83-bed medical center and physician group. Under his leadership, LGMC improved its CMS ranking from 2 stars to 4 stars.

Derrick earned a bachelor of science degree in healthcare management from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois as well as a master of science degree in health care administration from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. He served nine years in the United States Navy, earning three Navy and Marine Corps achievement medals.