The new leader of Riverview Health is settling into his new job with a vision that includes continuing to provide top-notch health care for patients while looking ahead to the future for the hospital system as Hamilton County continues to grow.
Dave Hyatt, who was named as Riverview Health’s president and CEO in March, stepped into the role after serving as the organization’s chief operating officer since January 2022 when he joined the organization. Hyatt, a native of Columbus who now lives in Westfield, brings a wealth of health care experience having worked for IU Health for nearly 15 years in various roles.
Hyatt, 40, said he is honored to lead the independent Hamilton County hospital system as its top executive and is staying busy overseeing day-to-day operations. He was named president and CEO after the hospital system named Keith Jewell to the role in an interim capacity in January.
Riverview Health has more than 1,500 workers on its payroll, a figure that includes more than 500 physicians.
“I’m just honored to be here to lead the crew,” Hyatt said. “When I think of Riverview Health, I try to center it around two things and that’s our mission and vision as an organization.”
Hyatt said Riverview Health’s mission is to preserve and improve the well-being of the individuals it serves. In doing so, that means looking at the health care status of the community, having the latest and greatest technology and determining how to improve care, he said.
“We want people to get excellent care close to home for the communities where we are,” Hyatt said.
Riverview Health has hospitals in Noblesville and Westfield, but also has three standalone emergency room/urgent care centers in Fishers, Carmel and the west Carmel area. In addition, Riverview Health has sites in Cicero and Sheridan.
“Really, we are the county’s health care system, and we take that pretty seriously,” Hyatt said. “We really feel like we’re taking care of our friends, family and neighbors right here. We know who’s working with us and we know who our team members are, and that team environment lets us create a better culture and a better environment for our patients.
“One of the things I like to say a lot is, when I look at the quality of the care that we provide and the service that we provide to our patients, if it’s not good enough for my family, then it’s not good enough for anyone’s family and I expect everyone in this building to believe that.”
Hyatt said he considers every employee – from top to bottom – a part of the mission and patient care team within Riverview Health. He added that the vision of Riverview Health is to “redefine the health care experience, becoming the best place to work, practice medicine and receive care.”
Looking ahead, Hyatt said his focus in the next six months will be developing a new strategic plan for the organization. That will involve looking at Riverview Health’s future and how to implement such a plan as it moves forward, he added.
Hyatt, who estimates that Hamilton County has a population of about 356,000 people, predicts more growth on the horizon with an estimated population of 400,000 in the next three to five years. That population shift, he said, will involve looking at how it continues to provide health care, where it will take place and ensuring the hospital system has an adequate workforce in place to take care of patients.
“Those are a lot of the questions we have to answer: What kind of doctors do we need? What specialists do we need? And what partnerships do we need because we’re not going to do everything on our own,” Hyatt said. “All of those questions have to be addressed in the strategic plan and that work starts soon.”
Hyatt does not rule out the possibility of Riverview Health one day adding a third hospital but said the health care system intends to look at where population growth is taking place to provide the necessary care in those areas.
“We’ll take a look as the demographics shift. You never know, but we also want to make sure we’re being good stewards of our financial resources and keeping that cost of care reasonable as well,” Hyatt said.
Meet Dave Hyatt
Age: 40
Hometown: Columbus
Family: Married to wife Tonya and father of two children, George and Eliza
Education: Bachelor’s degree in public health from Indiana University and a master’s degree in health administration from IUPUI
Healthcare work history: Nearly 15 years with Indiana University Health in various roles that included president of several hospitals. Hyatt also served in other executive roles with IU Health, including vice-president of strategy and ambulatory services for IU Health La Porte Hospital and vice-president of operations for IU Health Starke Hospital.
