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ST. LOUIS - Don Arnold, MD, FACHE, FASA, chair of the department of anesthesiology at Mercy Hospital St. Louis, was recently named president of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA), an educational, research and scientific society with over 59,000 members, organized to advance the medical practice of anesthesiology.

Dr. Don Arnold will serve a one-year term as president of the American Society of Anesthesiologists.

"It's a blessing to serve in our patient care profession, and one of the best parts of my week remains the privilege I have of providing clinical care," Dr. Arnold said. "The opportunity to share our successes at Mercy in anesthesiology care and to work with and learn from other thought leaders in this space and bring ideas back to Mercy has been incredibly rewarding."

Dr. Arnold will serve in the role for one year, leading work to advance anesthesiologist-led care delivery models, strengthen visibility and voice for the profession within the health care ecosystem, ensure the economic integrity of the specialty and strengthen understanding and adoption of advanced technologies, in support of the society's mission to advance delivery of safe, high-quality patient care.

Dr. Arnold's leadership journey in anesthesiology began with work in quality, safety and clinical performance improvement.

Since 1989 when he joined the Mercy St. Louis medical staff, Dr. Arnold has served in a wide variety of leadership roles including many quality and operational committees locally, regionally and Mercy-wide. He was awarded the 2023 Charles Thoele Physician Leadership Award for his service and vision to uphold Mercy's values of Justice, Dignity, Excellence and Stewardship.

Mercy, one of the 20 largest U.S. health systems and named the top large system in the U.S. for excellent patient experience by NRC Health, serves millions annually with nationally recognized care and one of the nation's largest and highest performing Accountable Care Organizations in quality and cost. Mercy is a highly integrated, multi-state health care system including 50 acute care and specialty (heart, children's, orthopedic and rehab) hospitals, convenient and urgent care locations, imaging centers and pharmacies. Mercy has over 1,000 physician practice locations and outpatient facilities, more than 5,000 physicians and advanced practitioners and more than 50,000 co-workers serving patients and families across Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. Mercy also has clinics, outpatient services and outreach ministries in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. In fiscal year 2023 alone, Mercy provided more than half a billion dollars of free care and other community benefits, including traditional charity care and unreimbursed Medicaid.