Boone County’s sixth-largest employer has a new chief executive officer.

Brady Debois started this week. Boone Hospital Center’s board of trustees chair Dr. Jerry Kennett describes their new CEO as extremely intelligent and detail-oriented.

“The main thing is about Brady is he’s had experience at both not-for-profit and for-profit hospitals. He actually worked at Mosaic in St. Joe (northwest Missouri’s St. Joseph) for several years, was president of the hospital there,” Dr. Kennett says.

St. Joseph-based Mosaic Life Care is a physician-led health system that serves 35 counties in northwest Missouri, northeast Kansas, southeast Nebraska and southwest Iowa. Columbia Regional Economic Development Incorporated (REDI)’s 2023 statistics show Boone Hospital Center has approximately 1,581 employees.

Meantime, St. Louis-based BJC HealthCare and Kansas City-based St. Luke’s will be merging in January. 939 the Eagle’s Fred Parry reports their merger will form a $10-billion system with 28 hospitals. Fred’s guest tomorrow (Saturday) morning on 939 the Eagle’s “CEO Roundtable” will be Dr. Kennett. He’ll be discussing numerous topics on the program, including the merger.

“St. Luke’s is being pressured tremendously by KU Medical Center, they’ve hurt them. So I think they’ve probably lost some market share over to KU, in fact I’m sure they have. So that was their incentive. BJC’s incentive is to get larger and be able to do managed care contracts across the state. Now what would it do to central Missouri? It would certainly affect Boone (Hospital) if MU Health Care became part of that,” says Dr. Kennett.

Kansas City television station KMBC reports St. Luke’s is the second-largest health care provider in Kansas City, while BJC is the St. Louis area’s largest health system. Dr. Kennett will join Fred Parry in-studio from 7-8 tomorrow morning on 939 the Eagle’s “CEO Roundtable.”

Columbia’s city council has voted to approve an airport restaurant agreement with Blue Ribbon Vending LLC, which is also known as Jackson Brothers of the North. The council has approved a bill that authorizes city manager De’Carlon Seewood to execute the agreement. Blue Ribbon Vending will lease space in Columbia Regional Airport’s (COU) terminal. Dave Lorentz of Jackson Brothers of the North joined us live on 939 the Eagle’s “Wake Up Mid-Missouri”, telling listeners that they’ll begin with Just Walk Out (JWO) technology that will operate 365 days a year. Under the agreement, a limited hot food menu will be available, once the city finishes construction of the kitchen area. Mr. Lorentz tells listeners that they’ll begin with grab-and-go food and will have hot and cold beverages. They may have alcohol as well: