Mark Laney, M.D., president and CEO of Heartland Health in St. Joseph, will serve as the 2013 chair of the Missouri Hospital Association Board of Trustees.

His one-year term as chair began Jan. 1.

As chair, Laney’s duties include overseeing and directing activities of the MHA Board of Trustees.

He will act as a day-to-day adviser to MHA and testify before committees of the Missouri General Assembly and Congress.

He also will lead a Missouri delegation to Washington, D.C., twice during the year and will act as a state and national spokesman for Missouri’s hospitals.

Laney has served as president and CEO of Heartland Health — comprised of Heartland Regional Medical Center, Heartland Clinic, Heartland Foundation and Community Health Improvement Solutions — since 2009. He also has been a member of MHA’s board since 2009.