Our Lorain market hospital presidents, Carrie Jankowski (pictured above, left), president of Mercy Health – Allen Hospital, and Gil Palmer, MD, (pictured above, right), president of Mercy Health – Lorain Hospital, are new to their roles.
However, their history with the Lorain community is anything but new.
“Lorain County is known for its diverse cities – something I love and am exposed to every day,” Carrie shares.
Carrie was born at Mercy Health – Lorain Hospital and grew up in the Lorain County area. Her career with our ministry began in 1997 as a radiology technician. Since then, Carrie has stayed with Mercy Health, taking on different positions which in turned enhanced her leadership skills.
Eventually, these skills enabled her to take on higher leadership roles within our ministry. In January of this year, Carrie was named president of Allen Hospital after serving as vice president of ancillary and support for our Lorain market.
Like Carrie, Dr. Palmer was also born at Mercy Health – Lorain Hospital. He trained in Youngstown, where he worked as an attending physician for 10 years. Dr. Palmer shares that he always felt the need to serve and give back to others. In 2009, he decided with his family to move back home to Lorain.
“When I came home to Lorain, I practiced emergency medicine – the same thing I had been doing in Youngstown,” Dr. Palmer says. “I didn’t have leadership aspirations. As time went by, leadership developed – it’s been a journey to be leading my hospital.”
Due to his successes in the emergency department, Dr. Palmer was called to take on leadership roles in different areas. This then led to his role as chief medical officer and later, chief clinical officer for our Lorain market. Then, in January of 2022, Dr. Palmer became president of Lorain Hospital.
Both Carrie and Dr. Palmer believe the support of their friends and family, along with the support from their communities, have led to their success within their medical careers.
“I was lucky to have friends and a community that positively influenced and supported me. Without that support, I would not have succeeded like I have,” Carrie says. “Now, it’s my turn to use my gifts to return that favor and ensure people have a health care system close to home that they trust, want to bring their families to and even work for.”
Carrie hopes to use this support to expand the health care services offered at Allen Hospital.
“We have excellent clinical and quality outcomes at our hospital,” Carrie shares. “However, I’m looking forward to focusing on growing our surgical service programs, primarily focusing on orthopedics, general surgery and plastic surgery in the future. I’d also like to develop relationships within the community so we are active members within it, ensuring we are offering the services the community needs close to home.”
Both leaders are looking to make their impact in Lorain during their time as president.
“I want people who walk into our hospital to feel welcomed, loved and cared for,” Dr. Palmer shares. “I want them to feel comfortable and at peace – and I want our team members to broadcast that. That’s my driving goal.”
Most importantly though, both leaders are looking to positively impact their communities.
“The people who are passionate about the city are same who helped rebuild it,” Carrie adds. “Whether I am visiting local businesses and restaurants, walking through the Metroparks, attending church or spending a day on the boat in beautiful Lake Erie, it comes down to community. It also comes back to friends and family within this community I call home.”
Learn more about the health care services we offer at Mercy Health.
