HSHS is pleased to announce that Rachelle Barina has accepted the offer to serve as SVP, chief mission officer at the system office in Springfield, Ill. Rachelle will start serving in this role on February 7, 2022.
Rachelle comes to HSHS after spending the last nine years at SSM Health. Most recently, she served as the regional VP of mission integration, where she has been responsible for mission integration, formation, spiritual care, community health, ethics, philanthropy and church relations across SSM Wisconsin. SSM Wisconsin has 14,000+ associates, 90 clinics, seven hospitals, a health plan, and homecare and hospice services. Beyond her regional responsibilities, Rachelle has also served as an ethicist across all four states in which SSM operates. Rachelle began at SSM as an ethicist in 2012 and has had progressive increases in responsibility. Additionally, Rachelle has previously led SSM Health’s annual pilgrimage to Rome and Assisi.
Rachelle holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Health Care Ethics from Saint Louis University, a Master of Theological Studies Degree from Vanderbilt University, a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Theology and Religious Studies from Saint Norbert College and is a certified healthcare ethics consultant. She also serves as a faculty member at the Albert Gnaegi Center for Health Care Ethics at Saint Louis University.
Aside from an extremely impressive career, Rachelle has been a proven leader in ethics and mission formation in her past leadership roles. We know how foundational our mission is at HSHS, and we are truly looking forward to having Rachelle lead us in this area and help shape our mission into the future. We anticipate using Rachelle’s leadership and experience to deepen our mission throughout our ministries and better connect all our colleagues to their mission-driven work and care.
Rachelle is a native of Milwaukee, Wis. She loves summers in the Midwest and enjoys running, water skiing, soccer and folk music. Despite being an unwavering Packers fan, she is eager to relocate to Springfield, saying, “I am honored to join the HSHS team and join in serving the HSHS mission. I am impressed with the colleagues I met and the work of HSHS. I look forward to joining the organization in service of patients, co-workers and community.”