He completed his nursing education at Missouri Southern State University in Joplin, Missouri. He received the designation of Healthcare Risk Manager from the University of Chicago and is a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality. He is currently the Vice President of Quality at Mercy Hospital in Joplin, Missouri were he has responsibility for Performance Improvement, Risk Management, Patient Safety, Infection Control, Medical Staff Services, and Compliance. He is also very active in Emergency and Disaster Preparedness at the hospital, community and state levels. Following the May 2011 EF5 tornado that destroyed St. John’s Regional Medical Center, he assisted with the immediate evacuation of the hospital and then served as Incident Commander for next several weeks following the tornado.