Beacon Health System Leadership

Kreg Gruber
Chief Executive Officer

Kreg was named Beacon’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in 2017.

Prior to arriving in South Bend, Kreg served as President of Doctors Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. He’s also held the positions of Senior Vice President & Chief Operating Officer of Amerigard Health Services Garden City Hospital in Garden City, Michigan.

Kreg is a graduate of Ohio State University and Indiana University. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Boys & Girls Club of St. Joseph County.

David Bailey
President, Community Hospital of Bremen

David has served as the President and CEO of Community Hospital of Bremen since March 2013. During his tenure, he has introduced or expanded services to better serve the Bremen community, including the addition of primary care physicians, infusion therapy, occupational health and laboratory services. David previously served as Administrator and Chief Operating Officer at East Texas Medical Center.

David earned his bachelor’s degree in Medical Records Administration from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. He is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Maria Behr, MBA, BSPharm
President, Three Rivers Health

After serving as Vice President of Operations at Three Rivers Health, Maria Behr, MBA, BSPharm, was named President in October 2022. During her time at Three Rivers Health she was responsible for non-nursing operations and led the hospital integration with Beacon. Maria has worked in health care and served Beacon for 30 years.

Maria began her career in health care in 1992 as a Clinical Pharmacist at Elkhart General Hospital and became Director or Pharmacy in 2015. In 2018, she assumed the position of Executive Director of Operations at Elkhart General Hospital. She earned her Bachelor of Pharmacy degree from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences and her MBA from Bethel University, Mishawaka.

Jeff Costello
Chief Financial Officer

Jeff has served as Chief Financial Officer of Memorial Health System and now Beacon Health System since 1995. In this role he has managed all accounting, financial planning, investments, business office operations, construction and medical records.

Jeff is a Certified Public Accountant and a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and Indiana University with a master’s in Business Administration. He first joined Memorial in 1985.

Jeff serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Junior Achievement of Michiana, Saint Joseph Valley Metronet and the Community Foundation of Saint Joseph County.

Sam El-Dalati, MD, MBA
Chief Clinical Officer

Prior to joining Beacon in June 2019, Dr. El-Dalati served as the Chief Clinical Officer and Chief Network Integration Officer at Bon Secours Mercy Health ­– Lorain Region in Ohio.

A board-certified cardiothoracic surgeon, Dr. El-Dalati is leading Beacon’s clinical excellence and quality outcomes initiatives for all inpatient, outpatient and physician office-based locations.

Dr. El-Dalati earned his medical degree at the University of Bristol, United Kingdom, and a Master’s of Business Administration degree in healthcare from Cleveland State University.

Mario Ellis
Chief Human Resource Officer, Beacon Health System

Mario Ellis joined Beacon Health System as Chief Human Resource Officer in February 2023. A Chicago native with more than 30 years of experience in human resources operations and functional management, Mario most recently served as Vice President of Total Rewards that included HR operations at WellSpan Health in York, Pennsylvania.

A trusted leader with a talent for excellent service delivery, Mario has held senior human resources leadership roles with prominent healthcare organizations such as the Cleveland Clinic, St. Luke’s Health System in Boise, Idaho, and University of Chicago Medicine.

Mario earned a Bachelor of Science degree in commerce, concentrating on human resources, from DePaul University in Chicago. He received a Master of Arts degree in practical theology from Regent University in Virginia Beach, Virginia. He is a current candidate for a Master of Health Administration degree from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, in December 2023.

Susan King
President, Beacon Health Foundation

In January 2017, Susan joined Beacon Health System as the first President of the newly formed Beacon Health Foundation. She worked previously at Midwest Health Foundation, the parent foundation of four Chicago-area hospitals of Adventist Health System, where she served as President since 2015 while also serving as the Executive director of Adventist Hinsdale Hospital Foundation since 2004. Susan earned her master’s degree in Museum Studies from San Francisco State University and her bachelor of arts degree from Tulane University.

Diane Maas
Chief Strategy & Digital Growth Officer

Diane has been with Memorial Hospital and Beacon Health System since 1990 and was appointed Vice President of Managed Care in 1996. She has responsibility for Community Health Alliance, a Physician – Hospital Organization (PHO), Community Dental Alliance (CDA), a Dental PPO, Michiana CompNet, a worker’s compensation Preferred Provider Organization (PPO), and the sales department, Bariatrics, Outreach, Market Research, and a variety of business development projects.

Diane earned a bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Management from Loras College, Dubuque, Iowa, and a master’s degree in Health Administration from the University of Notre Dame.

Dale Patterson, MD, MS, FAAFP
President, Beacon Medical Group

Dr. Patterson was named President of Beacon Medical Group in 2023. He previously served as Vice President Medical Affairs at Memorial Hospital of South Bend. In addition, he was Chair of the Beacon COVID Task Force and served on the COVID-19 Response/Unified Command of the St. Joseph County Health Department. He graduated from the Memorial Hospital Family Medicine Residency program in 2000 and returned in 2007 as Associate Director. From 2010-2018, he served as the Program Director.

He has a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Michigan and a Doctorate of Medicine from Michigan State University, and also a Master of Science degree in Healthcare Quality and Patient Safety from Northwestern University.

Carl Risk, II
President, Elkhart General Hospital

Carl previously served as Lead Administrator from St. Vincent Jennings Hospital in North Vernon, Indiana. He was instrumental in leading overall operations, implementing the hospital strategic plan and budget, developing effective working relationships with the board, managers, physicians, associates and community and improving patient care services and satisfaction.

He served as Vice President of Planning from 2004–2007 and then as Vice President of Clinical Services from 2007–2011 at King’s Daughters’ Hospital and Health Services in Madison, Indiana.

Carl earned an associate’s degree in Physical Therapy from the University of Evansville and a master’s degree in Health Administration from Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis. He is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and an Indiana Hospital Association board member.

Larry Tracy
President, Memorial Hospital of South Bend

Larry comes to Beacon from Barnes-Jewish St. Peters Hospital where he served as Chief Operating Officer since 2008 and President since 2013. During his tenure, he was instrumental in aligning and standardizing clinical operations, and gaining efficiencies to improve expense structure and deliver more value for patients and customers.

A United States Army officer from 1991-1999, Larry’s career turned to health care where he served as a business analyst for The Ohio State University Health System, an Administrative Fellow for Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, and Vice President for Evanston Northwestern Healthcare. He earned his master’s degree in Health Administration from The Ohio State University.

Mark Warlick
Chief Information Officer

Mark was named Beacon’s Chief Information Officer in September 2015, after serving on an interim basis since 2014. He has been with Beacon Health System since 1997, serving previously as Director of Information Technology. Mark received his bachelor’s degree in Computer Information Systems Management and master’s degree in Business Administration from Bethel College. He is a Microsoft Certified System Engineer and a Certified Professional in Healthcare Information and Management Systems.

Additionally, Mark is a member of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society and the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives.