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10 60 Rural Hospital CEOs to Know | 2017 By Megan Wood and Brooke Murphy B ecker's Hospital Review has named the following CEOs to the 2017 edition of its list, "60 Rural Hospital CEOs to Know." e 60 CEOs on this year's list possess extensive experience in healthcare management, demonstrating their commitment to offering high-quality, accessible care to rural populations. Under the CEOs' lead- ership, many of their institutions have earned recognition as top-per- forming rural hospitals in the nation. For inclusion on this list, individuals must serve as CEOs of hospitals in "rural" areas, located outside major metropolitan areas. Becker's Hospi- tal Review analyzed compilations by ranking and award agencies, such as e Leapfrog Group's listing of top rural hospitals and the National Rural Health Association's list of top rural community hospitals. e ed- itorial team also accepted nominations for the list. Note: Individuals cannot pay for inclusion on the list. is list is not a ranking. Names are presented in alphabetical order. Robert Allen, MBA. CEO of Park City (Utah) Medical Center. Mr. Al- len serves in dual roles as CEO of Park City Medical Center as well as vice president of clinical and outreach services of Salt Lake City-based Inter- mountain Healthcare. He has led hospitals in Wyoming, New Jersey and Massachusetts and was twice appointed chairman of the Wyoming Hospi- tal Association. e Joint Commission named Park City Medical Center a top performer on key quality measures for pneumonia, surgical care, venous thromboembolism and immunization in 2015, under Mr. Allen's leadership. Park City is about 30 miles southeast from Salt Lake City. Duke Anderson. President and CEO of Hillsdale (Mich.) Hospital. Mr. Anderson joined Hillsdale Hospital as COO in August 2006 and partici- pated in a 10-month transition plan to become hospital CEO. Prior to his current role, Mr. Anderson served in several administrative and leader- ship positions at other health organizations, including public health officer and director of health promotion at St. Joseph Community Health Agency in Coldwater, Mich. Under Mr. Anderson's leadership, Hillsdale Hospital received an 'A' grade in patient safety from e Leapfrog Group. Hillsdale Hospital is approximately 75 miles south of Lansing, Mich. Donald Babb. CEO and Executive Director of Citizens Memorial Healthcare (Bolivar, Mo.). Mr. Babb led CMH through its transforma- tion into a fully integrated healthcare delivery system aer he became founding CEO in 1981. CMH was the first rural hospital to achieve HIMSS Stage 7 in 2010. Under Mr. Babb's guidance, CMH was recog- nized as a Most Wired hospital by the American Hospital Association for the 12th consecutive year. In October 2016, the hospital group signed a letter of intent to partner with CoxHealth in Springfield, Mo. e hos- pital is about 210 miles from St. Louis. Karen Barber, RN. CEO of Yoakum (Texas) Community Hospital. Karen Barber has served as CEO of Yoakum Community Hospital since 2006. Ms. Barber joined the hospital as a nurse in 1992. Since she took the reins in 2006 at the 25-bed hospital, the facility has made great strides. YCH, which is about 100 miles east of San Antonio, received the 2012 Texas Health Care Quality Improvement Bronze Award and the Pa- tient Safety Excellence Award from Healthgrades in 2013. Ms. Barber's leadership prowess at YCH has not gone unnoticed. In 2010, the Texas Hospital Association honored her with the Pioneer Award, which recog- nizes excellence in rural hospital management. Rebecca Beck. President of Hawkins County Memorial Hospital (Rogersville, Tenn.) and Hancock County Hospital (Sneedville, Tenn.). Ms. Beck has headed the 50-bed Hawkins County Memorial Hospital and Hancock County Hospital, a critical access hospital, since January 2015. She was previously director of surgical services at Bristol (Tenn.) Regional Medical Center and Bristol Surgery Center. Ms. Beck holds a master's degree in public health from East Tennessee State Uni- versity in Johnson City, as well as an MBA degree from King University in Bristol. Syd Bersante, RN. Market President of St. Elizabeth Hospital (Enum- claw, Wash.). Ms. Bersante took over as market president for CHI Franciscan Health's Pierce County in Washington in 2015. She oversees St. Elizabeth Hospital, Lakewood-based St. Clare Hospital and Taco- ma-based St. Joseph Medical Center, where she previously served as president. St. Elizabeth Hospital is about 40 miles southeast of Seattle. Ms. Bersante is a registered nurse and has been with CHI Franciscan Health since 1990. Darrold Bertsch. CEO of Sakakawea Medical Center (Hazen, N.D.). Mr. Bertsch has more than 18 years of experience in healthcare man- agement and a career spanning nearly four decades in the healthcare industry. He was appointed CEO of Sakakawea Medical Center in 2009 and CEO of Coal Country Community Health Center, a Beulah, N.D.- based federally qualified health center, in 2011. Under Mr. Bertsch's leadership, Sakakawea Medical Center, located about 70 miles outside of Bismarck, and Coal Country Community Health Center, located about 80 miles outside of Bismarck, were named shared recipients of the National Rural Health Association's 2015 Outstanding Rural Health Organization Award. Gary Black. President and CEO of Lenoir Memorial Hospital (Kin- ston, N.C.). Mr. Black joined Lenoir Memorial Hospital as CFO in 1986 and transitioned to CEO in 1992. Mr. Black first partnered with the Cen- ter for Creative Leadership in early 2002 and worked with CCL to create a two-year training process for 65 executives, directors, managers and supervisors. Mr. Black is an American College of Healthcare Executives fellow and sits on various boards, including Kinston Rotary Club, Lenoir County Chamber of Commerce and Kinston Country Club. e hospital is about 82 miles southwest of Raleigh. Dan Brinkman, RN. Regional CEO of the East Hawaii Region of the Hawaii Health Systems Corp. (Honolulu). Mr. Brinkman joined Hilo Medical Center in 2007 as CNO, transitioning to regional COO in 2014. He became regional CEO of the East Hawaii region of Hawaii Health Systems Corp. in June 2015 and he currently serves as the HHSC corporate board member. Prior to HMC, Mr. Brinkman served as assis- tant administrator of interventional cardiology and cardiac surgery at Nashville, Tenn.-based Vanderbilt University Medical Center. In 2012, Sponsored by: