New Montage Health CEO continues legacy of service and growth
Montage Health welcomes new CEO, Dr. Mike McDermott
In the ever-evolving landscape of healthcare, Montage Health’s history of leadership has been an oasis of consistency. This March, the 91-year-old healthcare system welcomed Mike McDermott, MD, its fourth-ever president and CEO, as his predecessor Steven Packer, MD, concluded a 40-year career of service to Monterey County communities.
Packer, who became CEO in 1999 after 14 years of practicing as a pulmonologist at Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula, announced his retirement plans in June 2024. What followed was a thorough and meticulous search that resulted in a wide-armed embrace of McDermott.
A proven track record in local, nonprofit healthcare
Having served as CEO of Mary Washington Healthcare in Virginia since 2015, McDermott is familiar with Montage Health’s model of care. Like Montage Health, Mary Washington Healthcare is a nonprofit, locally owned and operated, independent healthcare system, “answering only to the communities we serve,” McDermott says.
“I’m drawn to the nonprofit, community-based healthcare model,” McDermott continues, “because we reinvest everything into our local community to provide state-of-the-art healthcare services. And those services are proudly delivered by our friends and neighbors who offer their expertise as healthcare professionals.”
McDermott isn’t new to Monterey County. He has fond memories of visiting his two California-based sons, playing golf at Pebble Beach, and running the Big Sur International Marathon. “This community is extraordinary,” he says, “and we’re so grateful to have made it our home.”
Choosing McDermott was a comprehensive process
Finding such a compatible match in McDermott was no small task says Bill Warner, who served as chair of Montage Health’s Board of Trustees during 2023 and 2024 and is in his 10th year on the board. The board formed a committee that spent about five months on a nationwide search to identify the best candidates from across the country. Extensive interviews and social engagements led the board to McDermott, “who we knew with full confidence was the best option to serve our community’s healthcare needs,” Warner says.
Starting his career as a diagnostic and interventional radiologist, McDermott says he transitioned to healthcare leadership because he saw it as a way to help more people.
He left Mary Washington Healthcare stronger than the organization has ever been. That’s significant, Warner says, because in the last two decades, approximately 170 community hospitals and healthcare systems have closed, with another 700 at risk across the country.
Continuing Montage Health's growth and vitality
“Community healthcare is a challenging business,” Warner says, “with many rural areas absent of the most basic access to quality care. But Montage Health is on the opposite end of that spectrum. We’re incredibly fortunate in offering the services our community needs. We were very mindful that we needed a CEO who can continue that success.”
Such vitality, Warner says, can be attributed to strong leadership paired with an “extremely generous and philanthropic community.”
I have immense gratitude for my experience at Montage Health, which has been the honor of my lifetime. This community is so special with so many caring individuals. It’s the people I met along the way who made my career so rewarding.
— Steven Packer, MD, CEO Emeritus, Montage Health
That leadership and philanthropic support is what led Community Hospital to grow into Montage Health during Packer’s tenure, blossoming from a standalone hospital into a community-wide healthcare system. Local access to advanced, high-quality care boomed with the expansion.
The opening of Montage Medical Group and Ryan Ranch medical offices provided the community with unprecedented access to services including:
New services including MoGo Urgent Care clinics, Montage Wellness Center fitness facilities, Ohana’s one-of-a-kind youth mental health program, and Aspire Health’s wellness initiatives and health plans brought new options for Monterey County patients.
And while Community Hospital branched out into the community to become Montage Health, it also grew from within, doubling its number of patient rooms and fundamentally changing the nature of healthcare in Monterey County.
The hospital launched critical new services and facilities including:
And Montage Health recruited some of the best and brightest medical professionals to deliver these services.
High-quality, local healthcare
“Many community members used to say that they had to go out of the area to get a lot of their healthcare,” Warner says. “Today, most people in this community can get almost everything done locally. That’s a huge shift.”
McDermott says he will continue that trajectory set by Packer. Plans are underway for a new wing at Community Hospital and there is active construction on a new Ryan Ranch medical building. But McDermott says his first order of business is listening to, learning from, and engaging with Montage Health’s employees and Monterey County communities.
“I want to hear from them — what they’re proud of and how Montage Health can better serve the people we care for,” McDermott says. “My focus is working with our community, Board of Trustees, executive leadership, and all staff to ensure that Montage Health continues to innovate in the name of our community’s well-being.”
A thoughtful leadership transition
As Packer passes the baton, he says the timing is intentional, emphasizing how a thoughtful and planned transition is an important element of responsible leadership.
“Beginning my retirement transition while I still had gas in the tank meant I could be fully engaged until my very last day,” Packer says. “This organization, this community, is a profound source of pride for me and so many others. Handling this transition with the respect it deserves ensures Dr. McDermott is well-positioned to seamlessly continue leading Montage Health into the future.”
Montage Health's Board of Trustees
As CEO, Dr. Mike McDermott is guided by Montage Health’s Board of Trustees and works closely with executive leadership to move the organization forward in ways that benefit the community.
“We thoughtfully put forward goals and metrics for the organization to accomplish in service to the community,” says Patrick Burke, chair of Montage Health’s Board of Trustees. “And the board is responsible for holding leadership accountable. We work together to make Montage Health an organization that first and foremost meets our community’s healthcare needs.”
The board is composed of community members with a diverse set of expertise in information technology, finance, human resources, and more, creating a symphony of knowledge, wisdom, and experience that leads Montage Health forward.
Meet our leadership team
