Bobby Stitt acknowledges it.

“I certainly have a unique career path,” said the Mercy Hospital Kingfisher administrator.

Stitt has served in that role for the Mercy system since 2012.

He was first named administrator of Mercy Hospital Watonga that year.

In 2018, Mercy Hospital Logan County was added to his list.

Then, in 2020, it was Mercy Hospital Kingfisher, making it three rural hospitals under Stitt’s purview.

He’s among the best in the business, so says Becker’s Hospital Review.

The leading health care industry publication last month placed Stitt on its national list of 118 rural hospital and health system presidents and CEOs to know.

“Rural hospitals are more than just health care facilities – they’re the nerve center of communities across America that rely on Mercy for care they can’t get anywhere else near their homes,” said Dr. John Mohart, Mercy executive vice president and chief operating officer.

“We’re proud to see Bobby on the prestigious list with other prominent leaders in health care from around the country.”

The Becker’s list noted that Stitt leads all operational and clinical co-workers across all three hospitals, overseeing organizational structure, alignment, strategic direction, financial performance and community involvement.

Each of the three hospitals is routinely recognized for excellence. Most recently, the hospitals in Logan County and Kingfisher were recognized for being among the best critical access hospitals for quality and Mercy Watonga was recognized as being the best critical access hospital in the state.

As for Stitt, it’s the second straight year to receive the honor from Becker’s.

It would seem he’s a natural in his role, but it’s certainly not one he envisioned for himself as a young man in Dover.

•••

Bobby Stitt had a good role model growing up… and it was in his own household.

“I have always looked to the example of my father as a man of integrity in word and deed,” said Stitt of his dad, Jimmy Stitt.

The elder Stitt is a minister of the Gospel traveling to places such as southeast Asia and Africa to spread God’s word.

Three years after graduating from Dover High School, the younger Stitt enlisted in the United States Air Force in 1989.

He was a member of the Air Force Security Police Agency while still pulling from his father.

“His example helped me in my military service as well,” he said.

It was also in the Air Force that the foundation for Stitt’s life was being built.

“The discipline I experienced in the military helped me see the value of serving others,” he said.

However, it would be years before he realized his true calling.

Exiting the military in 1994, Stitt said he was drawn to journalism.

He majored in journalism at the University of Central Oklahoma and earned a bachelor’s degree in that field in 1998.

While going to school, Stitt also worked for close friends in their construction business.

His journalism career seemingly got a huge boost when he landed a highly- coveted internship with Oklahoma Today Magazine.

However, that internship was cut short when he suffered a “significant” injury at a construction site.

Once he recovered, he remained in construction for a number of years, including running his own business in that field from 1994 to 2006.

It was in the mid-2000s that his career would take a different turn.

“I had never considered health care as a career until I witnessed a male nurse providing care to one of my family members in the hospital,” Stitt said.

He visited with the nurse, then said to his wife, Dana: “I can do that.”

Back to school he went. Stitt attended Redlands Community College and became a registered nurse in May 2006.

By June, he had landed a job as an RN in the intensive care unit at Mercy Health Center in Oklahoma City.

In December of that year, Stitt returned closer to home to become house supervisor at what was then called Kingfisher Regional Hospital.

That’s where Stitt started to hone more of his administrative duties as he was responsible for all the nursing personnel for specific shifts on certain days.

He began to move up the ladder. Stitt was named director of medical/surgery nursing in January 2008 and served in that role for nearly a year when, in December 2008, he was named chief nursing officer.

Then, in 2012, Stitt was designated to oversee the Watonga hospital.

His duties have only increased since.

And so have his degrees. Stitt picked up a master’s degree in science management from Southern Nazarene University in December 2020.

Military. College. Journalism. Construction. Health care.

Stitt hasn’t done it all, but he’s come closer than most and said he knows he’s picked the right path in serving the health care needs of his local communities.

And, he said, he’s pleased to be part of the organization for which he’s done it.

“I’m proud to be part of the ministry of Mercy in these communities for nearly 13 years,” he said. “Mercy’s heritage is almost 200 years old and began in Dublin, Ireland, with our foundress Sister Catherine McAuley.

“She was remarkable and her legacy lives on through the compassionate care Mercy provides in various places.”

Stitt’s three hospitals are included in that.

“I’m honored to be part of that legacy,” he said.