Alum leads at Saint Alphonsus with a passion for Boise State, healthcare and shaping the future

David McFadyen isn't a doctor. He isn't a nurse, or a physical or respiratory therapist, or even a social worker.

But he hires professionals in all of those fields, and many more, many of them products of Boise State's College of Health Sciences.

McFadyen became president and chief executive officer of Trinity Health, West Region, in 2024; Trinity is the parent company of Saint Alphonsus Health System, which employs thousands of healthcare professionals and has hospitals and locations across southwest Idaho and eastern Oregon. He also is responsible for Saint Agnes Medical Center in Fresno, California.

McFadyen joined Saint Alphonsus Health System in 2020 as president of Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise. Before that, he served St. Luke's Health System as vice president of population health for the Boise, Elmore and McCall communities, and administrator for St. Luke's Boise Medical Center and Children's Hospital, and earlier in his career served as vice president of operations at West Valley Medical Center in Caldwell.

A passion for healthcare and Boise State

McFadyen's family moved to the Treasure Valley when he was young, and he grew up knowing two things: He wanted to be in health care, and he wanted to attend Boise State.

The passion for health care was personal; for much of his childhood, McFadyen spent lots of time in hospitals, surrounded by the doctors and nurses caring for his father. It shaped his career - and that of his brother, a nurse practitioner in Oregon.

"I loved being in hospitals, talking to doctors, talking to patients. It always felt like home," he said. "I had a passion for health care, and taking care of people. I just loved it."

He met his wife, Cheryl, in high school, and both attended Boise State. McFadyen considered physical or occupational therapy but found his niche in health information management, graduating with his bachelor's from the College of Health Sciences in 2002. He subsequently earned a master's degree in business administration from Northwest Nazarene University; he is also a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and serves on multiple boards, including the Idaho Hospital Association, Boise State University Foundation, American Hospital Association Regional Policy and Boise Chamber of Commerce boards.

Passion and connection help shape the future

McFadyen has stayed connected with Boise State and the College of Health Sciences leadership over the years, through board participation and informal communications, and has spent considerable time with graduating seniors regarding career planning and development over the years.

Scholarships, "residencies" for students and exposure to other executives facilitated by McFadyen, support Boise State students' opportunities for exposure to health care fields and professionals in those fields.

And given his own university experience and his executive positions throughout his career, he can honestly say health care is for nearly everyone, not just those wanting to be physicians, nurses or clinicians.

"My passion is helping young students career plan, so they can come out and build a career," McFadyen said. "I try to realistically help shape their careers so they don't get discouraged early on.

"I just love that. It's a lot of fun."

The business and financial sides of health care, accounting, quality, risk management, business administration, engineering, design and architecture, public and population health, construction management, project, supply chain, information technology … "Our careers website shows the full gamut, we use pretty much any position that any other business would use," he said.

He's been impressed with the Broncos who become his Saint Alphonsus co-workers.

"I think they're excellent. They're very well-prepared," McFadyen said.

Support the Broncos who will be the future generations of Idaho's health care leaders. Give to Unbridled: The Campaign for Boise State University.

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