BOISE, ID--(Marketwired - July 06, 2016) - Robert "Bob" Kyte officially took the helm at Healthwise on July 1 after the retirement of founder and CEO Donald W. Kemper. Kyte was named CEO in March after an almost year-long, nationwide search. He officially started on June 1 to ensure a smooth transition, and current Healthwise senior leadership have stayed on board to maintain continuity and a strategic focus on the organization's nonprofit mission to help people make better health decisions.

This is Kyte's second stint at Healthwise, having served as its general and outside counsel for 15 years beginning in 1990.

Kyte comes to Healthwise from the nonprofit Adventist Risk Management, Inc., where he served as president and CEO. He has previously served as general counsel at the World Headquarters of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Washington, D.C., and as CEO and general counsel for Pacific Press Publishing Association in Nampa, Idaho.

"The board-appointed search committee undertook a national search to identify the right person to lead Healthwise," said Margaret O'Kane, chair of the Healthwise board. "Bob's experience in leading market-serving nonprofits, his vision for what lies ahead, and his passion for helping people make better health decisions combined to make him the winning candidate. Under Bob Kyte's leadership, Healthwise will continue its exceptional service to clients while advancing thought leadership for a health care system that fully values the voice of the patient," added O'Kane.

"Our mission will always be at the heart of what we do," said Kyte. "As we always have, we'll continue to look for new ways to accomplish our mission, whether it's changes in medicine that influence our content, advances in technology, or offering new services to help our clients. We'll always explore how we can better meet the needs of health systems, health plans, and consumers," added Kyte.

Kyte is a member of the Idaho State Bar, the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and the American Bar Association. He is a graduate of Walla Walla University, where he received a bachelor's degree in business administration with an emphasis in management and marketing. He earned his juris doctor from Northwestern School of Law of Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon.

Don Kemper and his wife, Molly Mettler, Senior Vice President, Mission, are both retiring after a combined seven decades with the company. Kemper founded Healthwise 41 years ago and built it into a $40-million organization with more than 275 employees. Mettler joined in 1985, bringing her formidable background in health promotion for older adults. "The Healthwise formula for success combines equal parts passion for the mission, commitment to our unique culture, and deep desire to help every client succeed," said Kemper. "Bob is drawn to the Healthwise mission, he has helped to champion our culture, and he knows how to both lead and serve our clients. With Bob at the wheel, the future of Healthwise is in good hands."

About Healthwise

Healthwise is a nonprofit organization with a mission to help people make better health decisions. In 2014, Healthwise merged with the Informed Medical Decisions Foundation to further advance its mission. People have turned to Healthwise information more than 1.8 billion times to learn how to do more for themselves, ask for the care they need, and say "no" to the care they don't need. Healthwise partners with hospitals, electronic medical record (EMR) providers, health plans, care management companies, and health websites to provide up-to-date, evidence-based information to the people they serve. www.healthwise.org. 1.800.706.9646.