Michael Ricks didn’t take the traditional path to a career in health care.

During his college years, he played baseball for the Brigham Young University Cougars, all the while dreaming of a career in the pros. When that dream did not come to fruition, Ricks applied for a variety of internships, and by chance ended up working at a local hospital. The experience proved life changing. After finding his niche in the health care industry, Ricks went on to get a master’s degree in health administration and increasingly gravitated toward leadership roles. In October of last year, he became the new president of Mercy Hospital of Folsom, a non-profit medical center that provides care to anyone in the local community, regardless of health insurance coverage.  

Over the next three years, Ricks hopes to expand the hospital’s capabilities to include a cancer center, in addition to continuing to provide world-class patient care to area residents. Ricks has also been able to apply some of the lessons from his baseball days to his new career. “As a leader, you have to model the behaviors you want in the other members of your team,” Ricks says, adding that this philosophy can apply to all aspects of life. “I’m passionate about success,” he explains, “but success done the right way—so that other people benefit as well.”

For more about Michael Ricks and other local happenings and information, be sure to pick up this month's copy of Style – Folsom, El Dorado Hills edition. Click on the Get Your Copy link on this Web site for some of our newsstand locations; click on the Subscribe link on this Web site to become a regular subscriber, or to order a copy of this issue or one of our back issues, please email  [email protected], or call 916-988-9888.