Circle of Life Hospice board appoints Catherine Grubbs new CEO

Circle of Life Hospice has promoted Catherine Grubbs of Bentonville to chief executive officer and will replace former CEO Mary McKinney. Grubbs was chief operating officer for the Springdale-based nonprofit organization.

“We are incredibly appreciative of Mary’s leadership and her outstanding work with the organization during her time as CEO,” Hector Gonzalez, board chairman for the organization, said in a news release. McKinney will move from day-to-day operations at Circle of Life to adviser for Circle of Life Foundation.

Grubbs has worked for Circle of Life for seven years, as chief operating officer since 2014 and previously as director of administration. As chief operating officer, she was in charge of administration and oversaw operations for the organization.

Grubbs graduated from the University of Arkansas with a master’s degree in healthcare administration and community health. Before joining Circle of Life, she worked for Mercy Northwest Arkansas, serving as vice president of performance management and business optimization, and received state awards for quality in healthcare for the organization “by ensuring compliance with national and state quality of care best practices.”

Grubbs is chairwoman of the Quality Partners Committee for the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, which focuses on improving “quality of care and patient experience in hospice organizations.”

Grubbs’ success has been “driven by nearly two decades of service with mission driven, not-for-profit, and community based healthcare organizations and fueled by a compassionate heart focused on maintaining Circle of Life’s ‘gold standard of care’ and organizational excellence,” McKinney said.

Grubbs said she looks forward to “continuing to work within our community to develop partnerships with other healthcare providers to ensure the best care possible for those we serve.”