MercyOne Central Iowa announced that Dr. Hijinio Carreon has accepted the position of chief medical officer, effective Oct. 14. He has held the position on an interim basis since August following the departure of Dr. Charles Keller. In his new role, Carreon will oversee clinical operations for MercyOne Central Iowa’s medical staff, serving as an advocate for all physicians, providers and allied professionals. He will also play a principal role in cultivating future health care leaders by directing residency programs for family medicine, internal medicine, general surgery, plastic surgery and psychiatry. He has been with MercyOne since 2007, leading improvement initiatives throughout his tenure. As co-medical director of emergency medicine at MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center, Carreon assisted in the development of a strategy to decrease the number of patients who left without being seen, using data analytics to improve provider coverage and patient processing. He also developed medication-assisted treatment for opioid addiction and alternatives to decrease opioid prescribing. He previously was CMO of Newton Medical Center, and also was medical director of the MercyOne air ambulance program, and director of Mercy College of Health Sciences School of EMS.