Then & Now: Pianalto sees healthcare grow in Northwest Arkansas

The nuns Eric Pianalto has worked with for 30 years at Mercy are the inspiration behind his career.

“I’d advise anybody younger in their career to find people they trust and listen to them, seek out their advice and counsel. The nuns were the backbone of the health system I work for. They’re inspirational leaders who focus on doing the right thing for the right reason.”

In his role as chief strategy and growth officer for Mercy Arkansas, part of the St. Louis-based Catholic healthcare system, Pianalto, 58, works with leadership to expand hospital services, clinic locations and recruit primary care and specialty physicians to meet needs in Arkansas. Pianalto’s roots run deep in Northwest Arkansas. His Italian grandparents came to sharecrop land in Tontitown, paving the way for a family who expected excellence from themselves and others.

“They were faithful people who worked hard and were good community members,” he said. “I’m fascinated by the reputation they paid forward to my generation.”

Graduating with a bachelor’s in business administration from the University of Arkansas in 1989, Pianalto earned an MBA in 1999. After college Pianalto took a job in Indiana. But, wanting to move back home, he went to work for the Rogers Family and Occupational Clinic and found his passion for healthcare.

“I was never talented in the science field, never going to be a member of the healing arts. But I found through the work I did, I could still have tremendous impact on the community by supporting those that are exceptionally talented in the healing arts. It became a passion from there.”

In 1994, he took a job with the Sisters of Mercy in Fort Smith; and then for Mercy in Northwest Arkansas, becoming chief administrative officer in 2002. In 2003, the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal named him to the Forty Under 40 class.

His role broadened in 2007 to the regional organization working in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Missouri. When asked to take Mercy’s Northwest Arkansas president’s role in 2013, he hesitated. “It wasn’t a role I saw myself in,” he said. “It’s a visible, demanding role, and I enjoyed the work I was doing.”

He said he would do it for three months. However, the role took on a “special meaning in a great way,” because he was taking care of friends, family and people he’d known his whole life. Those three months turned into nine and a half years. In 2022, Pianalto moved to his current role.

Over his tenure as president, Mercy committed $1 billion to healthcare in Northwest Arkansas, including a $300 million investment to build a hospital tower, and add 100 doctors and 1,000 new employees. An ongoing $500 million investment will infill the shell space built to keep up with the area’s growth.

“If there’s one common theme to most people who’ve had long careers that continue to advance, it’s that they look for the next right thing to do, regardless of how many mistakes they’ve made in the past. That’s helped me as a guiding principle in my career,” he said.

Changes are coming in healthcare with advances in technology and through Mercy’s partnerships, he said.

“In the next five to 10 years incredible work is coming out that we’re doing with Mayo in understanding early trigger signs that we can link together to prevent severe illness in people. I think we will see medicine move more over the next 10 years than we’ve seen over the last 30 — through being able to predict illness and intervene, as opposed to treating it after the fact.”

Past board chairman of Ronald McDonald Charities of Arkoma, Pianalto serves on the Rogers Lowell Chamber and Arvest Benton County Bank boards. He’s on the dean’s advisory board and the Business Integrity Leadership Initiative board at the Sam M. Walton College of Business. He’s worked for seven years with Excellerate Foundation on an affordable housing project in Bentonville and is on the Springdale Schools Alumni Association board.

Married to Dawn for 34 years, the Pianaltos have three married daughters and four grandkids. Pianalto enjoys camping, traveling and playing golf.