New hospital CEO shaped by military, civilian training

A 35-year military career shaped much of the leadership style that defines Patrick Shannon. He retired as a colonel and has now transitioned full-time into civilian life as a hospital administrator.

The new CEO of MountainView Regional Medical Center in Las Cruces, Shannon credits his military officer training for instilling “the discipline, rhythm and rigor” that define his management approach.

“That has helped me along the way to make sure we’re following up on things, that people are held accountable, and that we maintain strong interpersonal interactions with physicians, staff and leaders,” Shannon said. “Our days can be extremely busy, and we can lose sight of things. That rhythm helps make sure you’re following up on projects and issues that need to be addressed.”

Shannon grew up in Louisiana, born near Lake Charles and Lafayette. His father owned a tugboat business until he retired.

Shannon joined the Army National Guard to help fund his education at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. He later earned an MBA from what was then Northeast Louisiana University, now the University of Louisiana-Monroe. His interest in health administration led him to Saint Francis University, where he completed a master’s degree in hospital administration.

Along the way, and for most of his professional life, Shannon served as a Medical Service Corps officer in the Army National Guard and Army Reserve. He retired from military service in 2023.

“I’d been in for 35 years. It was hard to hang up the uniform, but I loved it,” Shannon said. “It was an honor to serve.”

After completing Officer Candidate School at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, he initially wasn’t sure which path to pursue. He leaned toward the Medical Service Corps but was still exploring his options while beginning his civilian career.

Major health systems such as HCA Healthcare often place future executives on formal leadership tracks, allowing them to observe hospital administrators during training. Shannon’s path was less direct.

“I started on the graveyard shift — like my dad used to call it — the night shift,” he said. “I was a census reconciler, so I would reconcile the census at midnight. I just worked hard, moved into daytime positions and eventually started working for HCA doing managed care and similar work. That led me into operations in El Paso.”

His growing medical career overlapped with continued military service. Shannon was deployed to Iraq in 2004 and 2005 during the Gulf War, serving with a mechanized infantry brigade attached to the First Cavalry Division and the Third Infantry Division.

“I was serving in Bradley Fighting Vehicles and Abrams tanks,” Shannon said. “After a medical officer goes through what they call a Charlie medical unit, the unit that treats injured soldiers, that’s typically at the captain level. Once you move into major and lieutenant colonel ranks, you take on more infantry operations responsibilities.”

Later, after transferring to the Army Reserve in San Antonio, Shannon moved into a training role. He worked at Fort McCoy in Wisconsin, training and validating combat support hospitals ahead of potential deployment.

“We would set up their complete hospital — kind of like the Joint Commission reviewing a facility — and make sure they were operating appropriately,” he said. “We’d bring in simulated patients and pressure-test them with mass-casualty scenarios. Once they met the standards, we’d validate them, and they’d enter a three-year deployment window if a combat support hospital was needed anywhere in the world.”

On the civilian side, Shannon advanced through a series of hospital operations roles. He spent a decade with Community Hospital Corporation in Plano, Texas, before accepting the CEO position at MountainView.

“When I started speaking with MountainView Regional, I saw the opportunity, the type of facility and the assets they have here,” Shannon said. The hospital is in a very good position in southern New Mexico, with significant growth potential.”

Having previously lived in El Paso for five years, Shannon was already familiar with the region.

“We’re the only Level III trauma center in southern New Mexico, and we have the ability to move to Level II trauma status,” he said. “That will take time, and we have to make sure all the pieces are in place, but reaching Level II would be a great benefit to the community.”

He also sees opportunity for growth in cardiology and cardiovascular surgery.

“We’re recruiting interventional cardiologists and structural specialists,” Shannon said. “That’s an area where we think we can grow and really benefit Las Cruces and the surrounding communities.”

Expanding trauma services will require additional surgical support, he added. The hospital currently has the only orthopedic trauma surgeon in the region, but that isn’t enough.

“To move to Level II trauma, you have to complement the orthopedic side with general surgery coverage,” he said. “We have excellent surgeons, but we likely need additional support to handle the capacity.”

The hospital currently operates 23 ICU beds, which are frequently at capacity. Shannon said expanding critical care is another priority to ensure patients can receive high-level care without leaving Las Cruces.

He is also exploring new service lines, including inpatient rehabilitation, to better serve the community.

Shannon believes his blend of military discipline and hospital leadership experience positions him well for the role.

“I spent nine or 10 years as a chief operating officer at large facilities and four and a half years as a CEO,” he said. “I’ve learned the complexities of building service lines and following through to implement them. It takes physicians, support staff and buy-in from the community to make expansions successful.”

He believes MountainView is well positioned for growth.

“We already have great doctors, great nurses, great staff and strong leaders,” Shannon said. “I think we’re poised to do very well in the future.”