James Gary Sheets

James Gary Sheets brings nearly three decades of leadership experience in health care, with a career covering hospital operations, regional management, virtual care, and service development. His leadership style emphasizes listening, clear priorities, teamwork, and attention to patients and caregivers. In his most recent role as a regional president, he was responsible for eight hospitals and roughly 150 clinics across Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana, with about 12,000 team members and 1,000 physicians and advanced practice providers. As an executive leadership team member, James Sheets managed responsibilities involving strategy, growth, quality, safety, financial performance, and patient and caregiver experience. He organized the region around three priorities: safety and quality, engaged caregivers, and stewardship. A multi-year operational improvement plan generated financial gains in its first year while patient satisfaction remained steady. Quality and safety results also improved, while a health plan was introduced into Colorado through a partnership with a local system. Jim Sheets's career included eighteen years of combined service with the same health system. As a chief operating officer, he directed acute operations for 21 hospitals in Utah and Idaho, along with surgery centers, telehealth, air ambulance, and outreach services. During this period, the region exceeded financial targets and reached the top tier of national quality rankings. He also established an ambulatory surgery center division, opened a community hospital, developed a long-range modernization plan, and integrated an air medical acquisition into an existing flight operation. Earlier, James managed telehealth and outreach services across eight states, consolidating virtual care into one hub and increasing its volume year after year. During the pandemic, his team expanded video visits by a factor of a thousand and developed virtual programs in behavioral health, remote monitoring, oncology, and other areas.