Des Moines University has appointed two alumni, Eric Barp, D.P.M.’01, FACFAS, and Hijinio Carreon, D.O.’03, M.B.A., CPE, FACEP, FAAEM, to its Board of Trustees.
Both distinguished in their organizations and professions, the two physicians started their board tenure Sept. 15.
“Drs. Barp and Carreon bring great experience and leadership skills to our governing board. As alumni, they also have insights on the student experience at the university,” says DMU President and CEO Angela L. Walker Franklin, Ph.D. “As we begin a new era for DMU with our new campus and continued strategies to respond to Iowans’ health needs, their knowledge and expertise will be invaluable.”
Barp, a 2001 DMU graduate, has been a podiatric medicine physician at The Iowa Clinic in West Des Moines, Iowa, for more than 15 years and serves on its board of directors. He also is president of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons, a professional society of more than 7,800 foot and ankle surgeons.
A member of the ACFAS Board of Directors since 2018, Barp served the organization as secretary-treasurer in 2021-22 and president-elect before being elected in Spring 2023 to a one-year term as president. An ACFAS fellow, he is board certified in foot, reconstructive rearfoot and ankle surgery by the American Board of Foot and Ankle Surgery. He lectures nationally and internationally, and his research has been published in numerous textbooks and journals.
Named the 2012 DMU College of Podiatric Medicine and Surgery Alumnus of the Year, Barp has mentored CPMS students and served as an adjunct assistant professor in the college. He also has served on the Iowa State Board of Podiatric Medical Examiners, a governor-appointed position. He and his wife, Jenni, made a gift to DMU’s Purple & Proud Campaign to support the wellness center track on the university’s new campus in West Des Moines.
Carreon, a 2003 DMU graduate, is the system-wide chief medical executive for MercyOne, headquartered in Clive, Iowa. In that role, he serves as the system liaison to MercyOne’s chief medical officers. He oversees patient care and medical operations for the health system’s more than 420 care locations with more than 3.3 million total patient visits.
Carreon began his career with MercyOne in 2007 as a physician at MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center. He was chief medical officer of MercyOne Central Iowa before being appointed chief medical executive and senior vice president of the health system in May 2021.
Carreon has led improvement initiatives throughout his tenure, including enhancing the patient care process and creating access to new pain management services for rural Iowans. As a Designated Institutional Official, he assisted in establishing a rural family practice program and a $1.9 million HRSA grant to fund expansion and addition of a cardiology fellowship. He was recognized by Becker’s Hospital Review in 2022 and 2023 on its list of “chief medical officers and hospitals and health systems to know.” In addition to his roles at MercyOne, he is an emergency physician trauma surveyor for the Iowa Department of Public Health, a member of the board of directors of the American College of Emergency Physicians Iowa chapter and a member of multiple community boards.
