10 DMU Degrees. 10 Alumni Stories. 10 Ways to Make a Difference.
Whether they studied osteopathic medicine, public health or biomedical sciences at 722 Sixth Avenue, 3200 Grand Avenue or the new campus at 8025 Grand Avenue, graduates of Des Moines University Medicine and Health Sciences share one thing in common: the degrees they earned prepared them to care, to lead and to serve.
It’s a physical therapist helping patients regain balance and confidence after the disorienting effects of dizziness.
It’s a plastic surgeon restoring form, function and a sense of self.
It’s an occupational therapy graduate just beginning her career, working toward becoming a Certified Hand Therapist.
Each path is distinct, and each calling is deeply personal. At DMU, those callings are first shaped in the classroom and continue in clinics, hospitals and communities near and far.
Through our Life After DMU series, we celebrate 10 alumni who exemplify the many ways a DMU degree can make a difference.
Life of a ... Health Administrator: From Corpsman to CEO
Kevin Kincaid, MHA’09, didn’t take a traditional path to becoming CEO of Knoxville Hospital and Clinics in Knoxville, Iowa. In fact, his journey started with getting kicked out of college.
At the time, he lived with several other men who had also failed out, except for one, a medical student in the Navy Reserves.
“He grabbed me and said, ‘You need to do something different. I think you should go into the military,’” Kincaid recalls.
Kincaid took the advice, joined the Navy and served on nuclear submarines as a sonar technician. Encouraged by a hospital corpsman he worked with closely, he eventually changed his rating and became a corpsman himself.
Stationed at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego, Kincaid was placed in charge of the hematology oncology clinic, despite having no prior experience in the specialty.
“It was the first time I found myself in leadership,” Kincaid says. “I really gravitated toward that.”
Another mentor soon helped redirect his future: an Iowa-born oncologist who served as the clinic’s medical director. When Kincaid asked what he should do next, the answer was clear, go back to college. So, he enrolled at the University of Iowa in the radiologic technology program.
After becoming an X-ray technologist at Mercy Hospital in Iowa City, Kincaid earned a bachelor’s degree in health care management and later spent 15 years as director of radiology at Grinnell Regional Medical Center in Grinnell, Iowa.
He eventually returned to school to earn his Master of Health Care Administration at DMU. The day he completed the program, Kincaid accepted a chief operating officer role at Dallas County Hospital in Perry, Iowa. Two years later, he returned to his hometown to serve as CEO of Knoxville Hospital and Clinics, where he remains today.
Kincaid credits his MHA with getting him to where he is today. He views it as a well-rounded degree that gave him a broad understanding across areas like compliance, finance, leadership and operations.
“As a CEO, you face unexpected challenges constantly,” he says. “You don’t always have time to research and prepare. You rely on that foundational knowledge to make decisions quickly.”
In addition to his work at the hospital, Kincaid has been heavily involved in health care policy, serving on the executive committee for the Iowa Hospital Association and the American Hospital Association’s rural policy board. The MHA also helped Kincaid elevate his career in ways that might not have been possible otherwise.
“I tried to break into executive leadership without a graduate degree, and I kept hitting roadblocks,” he says. “Once I earned my MHA, doors opened immediately. It changed my trajectory entirely.”
He feels some of the biggest honors in his career, like receiving the Excellence in Leadership Award from the IHA, were a direct result of his degree.
“At the end of the day, where I am now wouldn’t have been possible without my education at DMU,” Kincaid says. “It opened doors, prepared me to lead and gave me the foundation to succeed from day one.”