Sandra Bennett Bruce is the President and CEO of Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise, Idaho. Saint Alphonsus is a 381-bed regional referral and trauma center and integrated delivery system serving approximately 500,000 people in southwestern Idaho, eastern Oregon, and northern Nevada. Saint Alphonsus is currently engaged in a $161.2 million construction project to build the Center for Advanced Healing – a nine-story tower that will be one of the most advanced clinical environments in the northwest. The Center will combine state-of-the-art medical technologies and treatments, and architectural design principles based on research that aids in recovery and healing.
Saint Alphonsus also owns St. Benedicts, a 25-bed acute, and 40-bed long-term care, hospital in Jerome, Idaho, and provides management to two other hospitals in Idaho through its Health Management Services division; has created the largest primary care network in Idaho; is part of numerous physician joint ventures, including Nephrology, Imaging, Cardiology, a multi-state MRI, and a PHO; operates an MSO for primary care physicians in Idaho. Saint Alphonsus is a member of Trinity Health, the third largest Catholic health care system in the nation, with corporate offices in Novi, Michigan.
Bruce entered the healthcare arena in 1968 as a social worker at Berrien General Hospital, and by 1973, she became Berrien’s Assistant Administrator. At 27, she was named Chief Administrator – one of the youngest, female hospital CEOs in the nation. After 20 years at Berrien General, Bruce held two more positions as President & CEO at Michigan Health Systems, and was elected Chair of the Michigan Hospital Association – representing nearly 300 hospitals and providers.
Bruce is the former President and CEO of Mercy General Health Partners in Muskegon, Michigan, a combined Healthcare System formed through a Joint Operating Agreement between the Muskegon Mercy Community Health Care System and Muskegon General Hospital. Mercy General Health Partners is now a member of Trinity Health.
Bruce serves as a member of the Catholic Hospital Association Board. She is immediate past chair of the Idaho Hospital Association and a past chair of the Michigan Health and Hospital Association. She currently serves on the American Hospital Association Nominating Committee, is a member of the American Hospital Association Region VIII Policy Board, and is a past member of the Region V Board. Ms. Bruce was one of five hospital CEO members of the American Hospital Association’s 25-member Commission on Workforce, and chaired the AHA Section for Aging and Long Term Care Services.
Bruce serves on the Board of Directors of Blue Cross of Idaho, and is immediate past chair of the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce, as well the Boise Public School Education Foundation, where she spear-headed a series of successful fundraising drives.
Bruce has held chief executive officer positions for more than twenty-five years, including her current 7 years’ tenure at Saint Alphonsus. She is a member of the American College of Health Care Executives, the American College of Health Care Administrators, and the American Society for Aging. She holds a Master’s of Science in Health Administration from the University of Notre Dame and a bachelor’s degree in English from Western Michigan University.
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