McLaren Greater Lansing
Executive Team

Kirk Ray, MBA, brings a wealth of health care leadership experience to his role as President and Chief Executive Officer of McLaren Greater Lansing.

During his tenure, he oversaw the planning, construction, and transition of the hospital’s new $600-million state-of-the-art campus. He has also strengthened the hospital’s association with Michigan State University through an outpatient imaging joint venture, expanded strategic service line partnerships with a collaboration with the Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, and is currently overseeing the development of a freestanding emergency department in Grand Ledge to increase the community’s access to high-quality care.

Previously, Ray served as the Chief Executive Officer of Lutheran Health Network (LHN) – Kosciusko Community Hospital and Lutheran Health Physicians in Warsaw, Indiana where he was responsible for strategic, operational, and market leadership initiatives, and oversaw the development of a Clinically Integrated Network for LHN and led several other initiatives that measurably enhanced the organizations clinical and operational effectiveness while improving overall patient satisfaction.

Ray has also held President and CEO positions at ValleyCare Health System of Ohio (Youngstown, Ohio), DeKalb Health (Auburn, Indiana), St. Joseph Hospital (Ft. Wayne, Indiana), and Select Specialty Hospital (Ft. Wayne, Indiana). He is an active member of the local community through his service to multiple organizations focusing on patient safety and quality, population health, and economic development.

Ray is active with national and regional professional associations, including the Ball State University Alumni Association, from which he received the Ball State University Distinguished Alumni Award in 2012, among numerous other honors and recognitions throughout his career for community service and business leadership.

Ray earned a Bachelor of Science from Ball State University and a Master of Business Administration from Indiana Wesleyan University.

Linda Mercado Peterson, MD, FAPA, FAPM has been an invaluable member of both the Lansing Hispanic community and Lansing medical community since she joined McLaren Greater Lansing in 1994—known then as Ingham Regional Medical Center.

The daughter of Puerto Rican parents, Dr. Peterson was born in Canada where her father served in the United States Air Force. She spent much of her early life constantly relocating with her family to and from Puerto Rico and military bases before settling in San Antonio, Texas.

Dr. Peterson first came to the Lansing community as a medical student at Michigan State University’s College of Human Medicine where she received her medical degree in 1987. She then completed her residency at Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, where she focused on women’s mental health, including pregnancy and post-partum depression.

Since returning to Lansing in 1994, Dr. Peterson has held numerous leadership roles at McLaren Greater Lansing including Co-Chief of the Medical Staff, Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Chair of Medical Ethics Committee. She founded Lansing’s Citywide End-of-Life Subcommittee which developed Citywide Medical Advance Directives education and information for families written in both English and Spanish. And, in 2012, Dr. Peterson was named Chief Medical Officer of McLaren Greater Lansing.

Board Certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and Fellowship trained in Psychosomatic Medicine, Dr. Peterson has been a dedicated educator, serving as a Clinical Assistant Professor at Michigan State University for both College of Human and Osteopathic Medicine and faculty for Grand Valley State University. She has received extensive teaching awards since her arrival at McLaren Greater Lansing including Teacher of the Year by both MSU CHM and Grand Valley PA Program. In addition, Dr. Peterson has earned awards for her End-of-Life work, as well as her efforts in recruiting and retaining medical residents to the Lansing area.

In our community, Dr. Peterson has served and supported a number of local organizations during her career, including as a board member for Cristo Rey Community Center and the Lansing Community College Foundation, and has been extremely active with the Lansing Latino Health Alliance, Capital Area Health Alliance, and Okemos schools—where she and her husband, Dr. William Peterson, saw their daughters Kelsey and Kailey attend. She has also been an advocate for youth soccer in our community, supporting the Michigan Chill team and Hope Sports Complex.

Jay’s understanding of health care comes from the ground up as he started his career as an administrative resident for a large cardiovascular group practice, where he was responsible for strategic planning, operations, and finance. He also spent time as a director of cardiothoracic and vascular surgery before transitioning into hospital operations and has recruited multiple physicians to the medical staff at each hospital he’s served across 7 different states.

Most recently Jay served as the CEO of Lake Huron Medical Center, a 144-bed acute care hospital located in Port Huron, Michigan. During the last two years of his tenure, he implemented measures that drastically reduced nursing turnover and increased procedural volumes in the OR and Cath Lab. The hospital received multiple recognitions for quality, safety, and service during his tenure, including Level III Trauma designation from the state, Top 5% for Patient Safety from Healthgrades, and consecutive “A” ratings from the Leapfrog Group. In addition, Jay secured more than $7 million for purchasing state-of-the-art equipment and renovations to the OR and patient rooms. This experience is a perfect fit in our efforts to redesign health care at our new hospital. Jay has held many leadership positions including interim Chief Executive Officer at Memorial Hospital of Salem County and Chief Operating Officer at Lutheran Health Network, ValleyCare Health System of Ohio, and HealthSouth Sunrise Rehabilitation Hospital.

Jay received his Bachelor of Science in business administration from Birmingham-Southern College. He has also earned master’s degrees in both business administration and health administration.

Jay’s commitment to community is well established with experience serving as a board member for multiple organizations over the past 12 years, the most recent examples being the Economic Development Alliance of St. Clair County, the United Way of St. Clair County, and the St. Clair County Child Abuse/Neglect Council.

Jodi has 32 years of experience in hospital administration and acute care nursing. She currently serves as the Director of Patient Care Services (Critical Care) at McLaren Flint. Jodi has experience in many areas and provides oversight for patient care services in neurovascular, medical, cardiovascular critical care, surgical high-acuity bariatric unit, and inpatient hemodialysis contracted services. She also is a part of the emergency response team and a Gift of Life hospital liaison.

From 2008-2018, Jodi was a unit manager at Ascension in Grand Blanc, Michigan where she supervised nursing and patient care operations in the surgical CV intensive care unit, coronary care unit, telemetry unit, outpatient chemotherapy infusion clinic, and medical procedure areas. During this time she drove efficiency and improved quality patient care outcomes and focused on the patient experience.

To date, Jodi’s accomplishments include leading efforts to reduce CLABSI and CAUTI by 70% and establishing an emergency department throughput process resulting in a 4-hour reduction in boarder times. She is also passionate about staff morale and co-created the ‘Forward Together’ council to improve retention and also decreased RN vacancy through fostering a climate of nursing excellence and achievement.

Jodi received her Bachelor of Science in nursing from University of Michigan - Flint. and has a master’s in nursing executive/organizational leadership from American Sentinel University.

 

Dale figures he could have been a CFO in any industry, but he has worked at McLaren Greater Lansing since 1995 because healthcare contributes so much to the greater good of a community. He proudly supports the hospital’s focus on providing compassionate care to every patient every time. In addition, he loves the people he works with and regards them as members of his extended family. Dale, who moved into his CFO position in 2013, began his career at McLaren Greater Lansing as a staff accountant. He has held several positions since, including senior accountant, supervisor of accounting, and manager and director of finance.

Outside of work, the Northwood University graduate serves on the board of two healthcare-related organizations. An avid runner, he has finished five marathons, as well as a Half-Ironman triathlon. His wife Julie is a registered nurse at Eaton Rapids Medical Center, and the two of them enjoy supporting the extracurricular activities of their three children.

Lynn Griffor serves as Chief Experience Officer and VP of Philanthropy. In her role, she is responsible for developing and leading practices and innovations that enhance the experience for those receiving treatment as well as their families. Lynn also guides the organization to improve the culture for employees, physicians, residents and volunteers.

As VP of Philanthropy, she led a $10 million capital campaign for McLaren Greater Lansing’s new health care campus and works closely with local, state and federal representatives. She places an emphasis on community partnerships and is proud of the work she has done to improve the overall health and well-being of the Greater Lansing community.

Prior to her role in Lansing, Lynn has held leadership positions at McLaren Port Huron, Beaumont Health and the University of Michigan Department of Surgery.

In 2021, Lynn was recognized as one of the “11 in the 517” by 517 Magazine. She holds a BA in Psychology from University of Michigan-Dearborn, a Master of Public Administration from the University of Michigan and a Master Certificate in Healthcare Leadership from Cornell University.

Derek grew up locally in Mason, Michigan. He received his Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from the University of South Carolina in 2001. He then began working for a labor union out of the Detroit area and helped with labor relations. He joined the HR team at McLaren Greater Lansing in 2008 and worked here for 6 years. While working at MGL, he attended Thomas Cooley Law School and earned his JD in 2013. He then passed the Michigan State Bar Exam in 2014 and became a licensed attorney that same year. He has recently lead the HR teams at McLaren Lapeer Region, McLaren Health Management Group, and McLaren Northern Michigan. He enjoys spending time with my family, music, and movies. He is very happy to be back home in the Lansing area.

John Patterson, MPA, is an Alumni of Ferris State University and Western Michigan University and maintains his license as a Respiratory Care Practitioner. John’s dedication to McLaren and compassionately serving our patients is apparent to anyone who has worked with him during his decades-long tenure with McLaren Greater Lansing. John's experience in overseeing many clinical areas will add a patient centered focus to the development of the new hospital.