2025 Men of the Year: Mark Kastner

An over 20-year employee at Mercy Springfield Communities, Mark Kastner held a variety of roles with the health care system before retiring last year. But it was his final role as director of its Environmental Services department that was most impactful for him, as much of his time in the leadership position was amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kastner says the EVS team was without a leader when he took over in 2019, noting the culture was broken. But he listened to staff, worked with nursing leaders to understand their expectations of EVS and offered praise to his team in the trenches who protected patients by cleaning.

“I learned the names of my 300-plus coworkers and stood by their sides,” he says. “Today, the department thrives and remains a critical link to Mercy’s health care recipe of success.”

During the pandemic, he says the EVS team had to deftly navigate the misconceptions of COVID all while protecting the hospital patients, staff and themselves. Keeping morale up and remaining vigilant even when public support waned was the biggest challenge, he says.

“I am so proud to have stood with this EVS team in the breach of COVID,” Kastner says. “We came out stronger and more confident, mainly because a light was shone on the essential role that EVS and housekeeping plays in keeping everyone safe.”

Ettie Berneking, public relations manager with Mercy Springfield Communities, observed Kastner’s impact in the year she worked with him before his retirement.

“He just exudes positivity and hope, which isn’t always easy in health care,” she says. “He didn’t care if you were in the C-suite or worked in a different department, if his team needed a hand in order to keep patient care running smoothly, he would welcome anyone willing to assist.”

Kastner’s community involvement during his time at Mercy was extensive and continues today. Since 1981, he says he’s donated to the Community Blood Center of the Ozarks 728 units of whole blood, platelets and plasma. In January 2024, he received the CBCO Mary Carroll Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest honor the organization bestows on a volunteer.

Additionally, he’s participated in the Bike MS fundraiser annually since 1998, personally raising $174,722 for the National MS Society over that time. That’s in addition to recruiting cyclists at Mercy since 2007 to also take part in the two-day bike ride. The Mercy Bike MS cycling team has raised $367,000 over the past 17 years, he says.

Kaster also recently joined the Board of Trustees for The Kitchen Inc. and continues to volunteer at Mercy.

“Being retired made me feel that my ability to make that positive impact on others was gone,” he says. “But one year later, I’m simply finding other paths to take to make that impact.”

Family: I’m married to Robin, soon to celebrate 39 years. We have two boys, Steve and Elliott, both of whom I am so very proud of, a dog LoLo and a cat Poppi. I’m proud too of LoLo, but not so much Poppi ...

Words to live by: Carry a heart that never hates. Carry a smile that never fades. Carry a touch that never hurts.

Dream dinner party guest: My Pop, who left us far too early. I have so much to catch up on with him, and I have so much to thank him for.