CEO, Mountain Health Network, and President, Cabell Huntington Hospital and St. Mary’s Medical Center
Photo by Rick Lee.
By Ken Magill
“It’s not the seeds in the apple that make the difference. It’s the apples that come from the seeds that make the real difference.”
Those words have been the guiding philosophy throughout the decades-long health care career of Kevin Yingling, RPh, M.D., FACP. Yingling is the CEO of Mountain Health Network and president of Cabell Huntington Hospital (CHH) and St. Mary’s Medical Center.
Of his many accomplishments, one might think he would be most proud of his prominent role in founding the Marshall University School of Pharmacy, being the only physician to serve as president of the medical staffs of both St. Mary’s Medical Center and CHH or serving as the first chair of the Mountain Health Network board of directors. However, what Yingling is most proud of is the small, day-to-day impact he can have through his interactions with individuals and the ripple effect those interactions can have across West Virginia’s health care system.
“I’ve had literally thousands of medical students, pharmacy students and resident physicians who may have improved the health care of any number of patients,” says Yingling. “Now, leading a system to become highly reliable in providing inpatient and outpatient care, which impacts the lives of families across an entire region, is very satisfying.”
Yingling also views each individual interaction as a potential mentoring experience where he can learn from others both how to improve and what to avoid.
“These individuals could be patients, faculty members or colleagues in the health care professions,” Yingling says. “Over many years, I grew to be an amalgamation of many people’s influences, some of whom taught me why to practice the highest standards or to think in a certain way. Others taught me why I should not practice in ways that were personally or professionally detrimental to my goal of making a positive difference in other people’s lives. In my personal life, as a Christian, I strive to model my life as best as I can after the ultimate servant leader, Christ.”
Growing up, Yingling worked in a pharmacy in Barboursville, WV, where he saw firsthand the positive effects a pharmacist can have on people’s lives. His work experience at that first pharmacy, dovetailed with his desire to have a positive effect on individuals, led him to start his career in pharmacy.
As he moved through pharmacy school, he realized he could have an even greater impact if he went on to medical school. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the West Virginia University School of Pharmacy in 1981 and a Doctor of Medicine degree from the Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine in 1985.
Besides founding the Marshall University School of Pharmacy, he also served as its first dean.
“I felt that a school of pharmacy at Marshall University, and in an academic medical center, would advance the proper position of pharmacists in the health care team-based environment,” he says. “There are needs across the region for pharmacists advancing health care. For example, helping people adhere to their medication therapy is incredibly important, especially in Appalachian communities.”
Yingling’s medical service has taken him well beyond the tri-state area. He has gone on medical missions to Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Cochabamba, Bolivia and Moscow.
He also serves on the board of directors of Doctors Care of Cabell County, a voluntary physician organization providing free services to vulnerable populations; Tri-State Medical Mission, an organization that sponsors faith-based medical missions to Haiti since the earthquake in 2010 and yearly missions for women’s health surgeries; and Tri-State Bible College. He has also served on the Cabell County Board of Health since 2012 and was its chairman from 2020 to 2021.
Yingling’s upbringing and education in West Virginia led him to develop a deep kinship to the state’s people, history, struggles and health care needs.
During a five-year stint in Cincinnati, Yingling’s wife, Mary Alice, would occasionally wear a “Wizard of Oz” sweatshirt that said, “There’s no place like home.” The sweatshirt resonated with him, especially after long shifts.
“She and the sweatshirt were right,” he says. “So, I realized it was best for my wife, myself and my family to return to Huntington and start a career here.”
To Yingling, there’s no place like West Virginia.
Building the Future
By Angela Henderson-Bentley
Mountain Health Network is a West Virginia-based not-for-profit health delivery system comprised of Cabell Huntington Hospital, St. Mary’s Medical Center, Hoops Family Children’s Hospital and HIMG and holds a management agreement with Pleasant Valley Hospital.
“Mountain Health Network has made significant strides in its first few years of existence,” said Kevin Yingling, RPh, M.D., FACP, CEO of Mountain Health Network. “We are evolving, changing, moving and growing, and it’s very exciting to be part of that.”
Mountain Health is committed to improving the health and well-being of over 1 million children and adults in 23 counties in West Virginia, southern Ohio and eastern Kentucky through understanding, respecting and meeting their needs. Its vision is to create a world-class health system that delivers compassionate and innovative care enhanced by education, research and technology.
Mountain Health Network has developed two centers of excellence: The Pediatric Center of Excellence at Hoops Family Children’s Hospital and the Cardiovascular Center of Excellence at St. Mary’s Regional Heart Institute. To become a center of excellence, the clinical area must be recognized by the medical community, the public and accrediting bodies as providing the most expert and highest level of compassionate and innovative care.
“We hold ourselves to a higher standard for the communities we serve throughout central Appalachia,” Yingling says. “We are dedicated to providing advanced medicine and compassionate care to every individual who enters our health care system.”
