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Robert G. Brueckner, 69, president of St. John’s Regional Medical Center from 1994 to 1998, died Monday after a one-year illness.
His daughter, Wendy Brueckner, said services are being arranged by Parker Mortuary, Joplin. Visitation will be from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the mortuary. Services will take place at 11 a.m. Friday at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, Joplin. Military rites will be performed at the church.
In a statement released Tuesday, Gary Pulsipher, president and CEO of Mercy Hospital Joplin, said, “The St. John’s and Mercy family here in Joplin are saddened by the news that former President and CEO Bob Brueckner has passed away.
“Our staff will remember Bob as a man who cared about the Joplin community and worked diligently for the benefit of the ministry and people of St. John’s, during his tenure as CEO from 1994 to 1998. His family will be in our thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.’’
His wife, Nina, said Brueckner was visited at Freeman Hospital West by many local doctors and hospital administrators in the days before his death.
Brueckner came to Joplin in 1993 from San Jose (Calif.) Medical Center where he had served as president and CEO since 1986. He was the executive vice president and chief financial officer of that medical center for the previous 10 years.
Before that, Brueckner held administrative positions at hospitals in Downey, Livermore and Burlingame, all in California. He held a master’s degree in hospital administration from the University of California.
Among his accomplishments during his tenure at St. John’s were the construction of a public medical library and the second of two office buildings on the medical center’s main campus in Joplin. Virtually all of that campus was destroyed by the tornado on May 22, 2011.
He also worked to improve the medical services offered to communities within the region.
The Brueckner family lives in Joplin.
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Robert Brueckner, former president of St. John’s in Joplin, dies
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