No. 12 Story of the Year: Northfield Hospital CEO Passes Away

As the end of the year approaches, Patch recaps the biggest stories of 2012—both in terms of pageviews and impact on the Northfield community. The following article was posted Aug. 31, 2012.

 
Mark Henke, Northfield Hospital & Clinics President and CEO, died Friday morning at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis during a complex surgery related to his renal cancer.

He was 53.

Mark was diagnosed with renal cancer in late July. He required emergency surgery on August 4 to remove a pulmonary blockage related to his condition. He made good progress on his recovery, and on Friday underwent a second surgery to remove the cancerous kidney and a fragment of the tumor that had broken off.

Mark leaves behind his wife, Joyce, five children and a son-in-law.

Mark assumed executive leadership at Northfield Hospital & Clinics in April of 2010. He had previously been chief executive officer for a hospital in Luverne; chief operating officer for Winneshiek Medical Center in Decorah, Iowa; chief clinic administrator for Mayo Health System; and a regional administrator for the Mayo-affiliated medical center in LaCrosse. He was a 1981 graduate of St. Olaf College and received an MBA from Northern Illinois University in 1986.

Gina Franklin, board chair, praised Henke’s vision and leadership during his time at Northfield Hospital & Clinics.

“We are very proud of the many contributions Mark made to enhancing our healthcare delivery system,” she said. “We were very fortunate to have the time we did getting to know Mark and his lovely family. He will be missed.”

Tim Gronseth, vice president and chief financial officer for Northfield Hospital & Clinics, has been serving as acting president and CEO since early August. That role was formalized by board action at a meeting Thursday evening.

Editor's note: Submitted by Northfield Hospital & Clinics.

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