Leadership

Hilda Fuentes

Chief Executive Officer

Under the leadership of Hilda Fuentes, the Samuel U. Rodgers Health Center has undergone transformations on several levels. Most recently this includes an extensive capital campaign that has been successfully concluded, ensuring construction of a new, larger facility adjacent to the existing Health Center. The new $25.1 million building will open in early 2012, and will provide access to quality health care services for an additional 7,200 residents in the Kansas City community. Planning is also underway for the development of the new Legacy Park, named in honor of the Health Center's founder, Dr. Samuel U. Rodgers. The park will be situated on land now occupied by the current structure, which was built in 1971.

Ms. Fuentes has a Master of Science in Public Administration from Eastern Michigan University, and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Southeastern University in Washington, D.C. Before joining the staff of the Samuel U. Rodgers Health Center as CEO in 2005, Ms. Fuentes served as the deputy director and division chief for the Kansas City Health Department in Kansas City, Missouri. She has also worked as a consultant for Hospice Management Partners, as Vice-President for Saint Luke's-Shawnee Mission Health System, Director of Development for Cabot Westside Clinic in Kansas City, and as Vice-President of Hospice Services for the Sisters of Mercy Health Care Corporation.

Ralph Caro, MBA, CMPE

Chief Operations Officer

Ralph Caro, Jr., joined the Center in 2008. He has over 30 years of business experience and service in the healthcare community in Kansas City. He served as chairman of the Swope Parkway Health Center Board of Directors in Kansas City, Missouri, and as the Chief Operating Officer, President and Chief Executive Officer of Swope Health Services. Ralph is also an adjunct professor at the graduate level at the University of Missouri-Kansas City's (UMKC) Bloch School of Business.

Mr. Caro has a Master of Business Administration from UMKC and a Bachelor of Science in Zoology from University of Kansas. He has served on the Lincoln University Board of Curators in Jefferson City, Missouri, the United Inner Cities Services Board, in Kansas City, Missouri, and as an officer with the Missouri Primary Care Association. In addition, he is a member of the Enshriners--a group of local business leaders raising funds to implement beautification projects in the Kansas City, Missouri area.

Bob Theis

Chief Financial Officer

Bob Theis has a Bachelor of Science in Journalism from the University of Kansas, a Master of Accounting from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Mr. Theis is a licensed Certified Public Accountant. He previously worked at Grant Thornton and Saint Luke's-Shawnee Mission Health Center, and he has been a consultant to CPA firms. Bob won the 2010 Chief Financial Officer of the Year Award for Small Nonprofit Organizations, given by the Kansas City Business Journal.

Sudeep Ross, M.D., M.B.A.

Dr. Ross worked as an Embryologist prior to his Family Medicine residency; he then served as Medical Director of a hospital on the East Coast before relocating to Arizona, where he assumed the post of  Regional Medical Director for two of the nation's largest Urgent Care companies, each serving over 50,000 patients annually.  Dr. Ross has also been the Medical Director of a national health care management organization and creative director for a medical software firm developing point-of-service applications to improve patient outcomes.

Karen King

Chief Clinical and Nursing Officer 

Karen King is a seasoned professional Nurse Executive with a solid background in implementing quality initiatives in several different types of healthcare settings.  Originally from the East Coast, she attained her B.S.N degree at the University of Massachusetts Amherst before later earning Master’s Degrees from both Webster College in St. Louis and the University of Texas at El Paso.  She has worked in clinical leadership roles all over the country in cities including Buffalo, Nashville, and Salt Lake City.  Most recently she served as the Vice President of Patient Care Services (Chief Nurse Executive) for a large health system that includes a hospital, eleven acute care facilities, and several outreach clinics.