Leadership

Brett Spenst joined Littleton Adventist Hospital in November 2012. Before joining Littleton Hospital, Brett served as chief operating officer and chief financial officer for Kettering Medical Center System in Ohio. Prior to that he spent 20 years with Adventist Health in California. He is a certified public accountant and completed his MBA from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

In addition to continuing to build community partnerships, Brett enjoys partnering with physicians to expand advanced specialty care. He is proud to be part of a team that shares his commitment  to delivering the highest quality care and service possible to patients.

Brett and his wife, Holly have two adult children.

Cheryl Curry joined Littleton Adventist Hospital in June 2013 as CFO and senior financial executive. Cheryl provides financial leadership, innovative strategy and operational support to all levels of leadership.

Before joining the team at Littleton Adventist Hospital, Cheryl served as the CFO for Avista Adventist Hospital, also a Centura Health facility. Prior to joining Centura Health, she spent 18 years with Adventist Health in various finance leadership roles. During her tenure at Adventist Health, Cheryl served as CFO for Ukiah Valley Medical Center (Ukiah, CA) and Castle Medical Center (Kailua, HI) as well as the Director of Internal Audit Services at the corporate office. Cheryl has a bachelor's degree in business administration from Pacific Union College and is licensed as a CPA in California.

Dr. Verrill joined Littleton Adventist Hospital in August 2015 from Bridgton Hospital in Maine, where he served as Division Chief for the medical group and president of the medical staff. Dr. Verrill served as a major in the United States Air Force Medical Corps and was active duty from 1993 to 2000. While on active duty, Dr. Verrill cared for patients as an internist with the 10th Medical Group at the United States Air Force Academy Hospital in Colorado Springs from 1996 to 2000.

Upon completion of his service he moved to Maine to join Central Maine Internal Medicine. A few years later he co-founded the Central Maine Hospitalist service and served as the group’s medical director for seven years. Along with his leadership roles, Dr. Verrill has been a hospitalist at Bridgton Hospital and Central Maine Medical Center since 2003.

He received his undergraduate degree in biology from Atlantic Union College in South Lancaster, Massachusetts, and obtained his medical degree at the University of Vermont College of Medicine in Burlington, Vermont. Dr. Verrill completed his residency in internal medicine at Wilford Hall USAF Medical Center, in San Antonio, Texas, and is board certified in internal medicine.

Dr. Verrill and his wife, Melitta, have three children.

Michael (Mike) Brendel, MHL, RN, joined Littleton Adventist Hospital in July, 2015 as chief operating officer.

Before coming to LAH, Mike was the vice president of clinical and outpatient services, and the cardiac and neuroscience service lines at Kettering Medical Center System (KMCS), part of Kettering Health Network, in Kettering, Ohio. Prior, he was the director of cardiac services at KMCS, coming from Fremont-Rideout Health Group where he was a consultant, serving as clinical administrative director in emergency, critical care and cardiac services.

Mike has more than 30 years of experience in service line and hospital operations, spending time at Swedish Medical Center in Seattle, St. Francis Heart & Vascular Hospital in Indianapolis, and Central Washington Hospital in Wenatchee, Washington. He began his career as an RN at Kettering Medical Center.

Mike is an RT and RN and holds a bachelor’s in healthcare management, and a master’s in healthcare leadership from Park University. He and his wife Debbie, an oncology nurse, have two adult daughters.

Rhonda Ward, RN, MSN, chief nursing officer and vice president of patient care services, combines her passion for nursing and strong leadership to foster an environment of clinical excellence at Littleton Adventist Hospital. With more than 27 years of nursing experience and effective management skills, Rhonda serves as an advocate for both the hospital's patients and staff, providing a strong voice for nurses and maintaining quality care practices and clinical efficacy.

Rhonda began her career at Centura Health as a nurse on the medical unit at Penrose-St. Francis Hospital. Subsequently, she worked as a staff nurse on the surgical unit at Porter Adventist Hospital before assuming the role of charge nurse of that unit. She has also worked as a home care nurse for Centura Health at Home, a case manager at Porter Adventist Hospital, a home care coordinator at Littleton Adventist Hospital and as director of quality and operations for Centura Health at Home.

Prior to her appointment as chief nursing officer and vice president of patient care services, Rhonda served as the director of quality, education and nursing support at Littleton. She earned her BSN from the University of Northern Colorado and holds a master's of science degree in Nursing from Regis University.