Mercy has named a new leader to innovate a more personalized, consistent experience for people needing orthopedic and sports medicine care across Mercy’s multi-state region.
Matt Wright, who currently serves as a chief operating officer in Mercy’s Oklahoma region, will be the service line executive for orthopedic surgery and sports medicine care. His role is part of Mercy’s new focus on building an exceptional, consistent experience for patients regardless of where they live. This is the first of six new roles that will lead specialty care services across Mercy. The additional five include cardiovascular, surgery and GI, neurosciences, oncology and women and children.
“In our 2023 on-demand culture, patients need health care solutions that are convenient for their busy lives, so we must evolve the way we deliver that care,” said Dr. Jeff Ciaramita, senior vice president and chief physician executive at Mercy. “When a student-athlete gets injured in a weekend game out of town, why should they wait until Monday to see a Mercy specialist back home? If Mom or Dad falls off a ladder hanging Christmas decorations or a grandparent trips and falls, we want to be able to deliver the consistent, high-quality experience Mercy is known for regardless of where they are located or when the injury occurs.”
Wright’s new role will accelerate this change in hospital-based and outpatient orthopedic and sports medicine care across all of Mercy, building upon the successful programs already in place. He will focus on increasing and optimizing in-person options in regions that need more specialists and expanding virtual options for all, including care outside of typical business hours.
Wright will collaborate with Mercy physicians and leaders in Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma to make this work a reality.
“Matt has a heart for building relationships with and supporting physicians and providers, and expanding the use of new health care technology while staying closely connected with co-workers and patients,” said Dr. Ciaramita. “That’s what will make him an effective leader in this new role.”
The change comes at a particularly busy time, as the St. Louis Cardinals season gets underway with Mercy serving as the team’s official medical provider through 2032. Mercy’s lineup of multispecialty physicians focuses on the care and prevention of illness and injuries, ensuring Cardinals players are at peak performance for game days. 
Mercy also serves as the official sports medicine provider to the St. Louis Blues and provides medical coverage for the Springfield Cardinals, Missouri State University and athletes from collegiate, high school and club teams across our region.
Additionally, the new Mercy Center for Performance Medicine & Specialty Care, one of the largest ambulatory surgery centers in the country, will open this month on the campus of Mercy Hospital St. Louis, with a large focus on orthopedics and sports medicine. The center will advance the consumer experience in health care, serving as a model for future Mercy facilities.
“Our vision is to revolutionize the orthopedic space and make elite, professional athlete-level care available to all of our communities 24/7,” said Wright. “Mercy has a heritage of embracing change, just as the Sisters of Mercy did many times to meet the needs of those they served. This is another exciting step in our journey to do that.”
