Courtesy Photo Mike Erickson.

ALPENA — MyMichigan Health, the Midland-based owner of the Alpena hospital, named MyMichigan Medical Center Alpena President Mike Erickson as the future leader for the new medical locations in Saginaw, Tawas, and Standish on Thursday.

In late March, MyMichigan Health signed an agreement with Ascension Michigan to acquire Ascension’s Saginaw, Tawas, and Standish medical facilities and to make them a part of MyMichigan’s system.

“I was extremely excited and incredibly humbled to be asked to lead the hospitals in Saginaw, Tawas, and Standish,” Erickson said. “But I am also sad to leave Alpena. I loved the community, and we have some of the best employees working at this hospital that I feel fortunate to know. I served this community for two years and I think that we did a great job pushing the needle by working with ACC more on educational programs.”

Erickson will assume this new position and be replaced as the Alpena hospital president by a successor once the Ascension hospitals formally join MyMichigan, which is anticipated to be in early summer 2024.

A successor for Erickson’s role as president of MyMichigan Medical Center Alpena has not yet been named.

Lydia Watson, MyMichigan Health president and CEO, said Erickson was the perfect fit for the position.

“Not only does he have an impressive background in the health care industry, but he is someone who knows how to build trust and forge relationships. And, that means something,” Watson said. “Mike has such a profound passion to ensure patients and their families receive outstanding care and an excellent experience. He wears that passion on his sleeve. He will in no doubt hit the ground running in this role with an energy to meet and learn from all those he encounters.”

Erickson has served as president of the Medical Center in Alpena since 2022 but began his career with MyMichigan Health in 2008 as the system vice president of support services. He later transitioned in 2021 to system vice president of professional services.

Erickson holds a master’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in technology management, both from the University of Maryland. He also earned a bachelor’s degree in management studies from the same university. He has been certified in facilities management.

While no replacement has been found yet for Erickson, he said that he, senior staff, and the local board for the Alpena hospital will start looking at applications by the end of April.

Erickson said that, while he is proud of his work as president over the past two years, he hopes that the next leader will make even better improvements to MyMichigan Medical Center Alpena.

MyMichigan Health will acquire Ascension St. Mary’s in Saginaw, Ascension St. Mary’s Towne Center, Ascension St. Joseph in Tawas, and Ascension St. Mary’s in Standish, with a total of 396 beds in all facilities.

Much like MyMichigan Medical Center Alpena’s specialized care facilities like the Cancer Center and its ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) program, which helps with the most serious type of heart attack, other MyMichigan hospitals will have specific care facilities. This could be beneficial for Alpena patients who may need to be transferred for specialized care or bring others to Alpena for its Cancer Center, for example.