VIDEO: AMC welcomes new CEO

Published 10:33 am Wednesday, December 10, 2008

What Dr. David Agerter doesn’t tell you about himself reveals a lot about his character.

He was named the 2007 Minnesota Family Physician of the Year by the Minnesota Academy of Family Physicians. He served as team physician for the Triton High School football team. He was a volunteer medical director at Fairview Nursing Home in Dodge Center, Minn., Dodge Center/Kasson Ambulance, West Concord Ambulance, Zumbro Falls First Responders and Dodge County First Responders.

What the new CEO of Austin Medical Center does divulge is that he is excited to be here and wants to introduce himself to every person — all 910 of them — who works at the hospital.

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“I really value that,” he said of his first goal as CEO.

Agerter comes from 26 years at the Mayo Family Clinic in Kasson as a family practice provider. He grew up on a farm in West Concord, Minn., where he graduated from high school.

He is a graduate of Gustavus Adolphus and served his residency at Mayo Medical School.

Agerter served as chairman of the Department of Family Medicine at Mayo Clinic from 1996 to 2005 and is the current associate dean at the Mayo School of Health Sciences, College of Medicine in Rochester.

“I have a strong interest in education as well,” said Agerter, who hopes to recruit new physicians to AMC.

Recently in the medical field, physicians are becoming more and more difficult to hire.

“The profession itself is demanding,” he said. “I think health care will continue to change.”

The most difficult challenge, however, will be to “meet the needs of the people you are given the privilege to serve,” he said.

Another goal of Agerter’s is to promote feedback from both staff and patients.

“We want to hear back from physicians and the community,” he said.

Agerter was drawn to Austin after discussions with former CEO Dr. Tim Johnson, who stepped down after 14 years in the position but still practices at AMC.

“I feel it’s an outstanding group of physicians,” said Agerter, who likes the strong emphasis on “servant leadership.”

In addition to his CEO duties and responsibilities as associate dean at Mayo, Agerter will spend half of his time practicing in family medicine at AMC.

He and his wife, Barbara, live between Kasson and Rochester, but plan to move to Austin in January. The couple has three daughters and a son.