Over the years, the ever-changing world of healthcare continues to have one common theme: people who choose this path are some of the most compassionate, caring, and dedicated people in the world. It’s often said that working in healthcare is not a career you choose, but a career that you were born to do.
Over the last four months, it has been my privilege to be able to join the team at Loring Hospital as interim CEO and work to meet the needs of the people we serve. I learned very quickly that the same passion I have witnessed in healthcare is alive and well at Loring. Most people do not realize the many moving parts it takes to keep a hospital running smoothly. Most of the time on television, you only see the doctors or nurses, but in all actuality, it takes many different professions to make it all work. It’s another reason that makes what we do so special, because of those different people coming together for one common mission and vision.
I am sure you are all aware that there are exciting things on the horizon for Loring Hospital and the people who choose to receive care at the hospital. Over the past number of months, the staff has been working on a facility master plan that will take the facility as we know it today and transform it into a facility that will not only better meet our current needs, but also the anticipated needs for the future. These include a new provider clinic that will ultimately be very beneficial in the recruitment and retention of providers, staff, and patients. It also includes enhanced outpatient service areas, which is and will continue to be the cornerstone of the care that we provide in the rural setting. I commend the Loring Board of Trustees for heading down this very important path.
The Loring Board of Trustees also announced a few weeks ago that Callie Babcock has been named as the next CEO of Loring Hospital. In speaking to Callie, she is very excited to join the team at Loring and work to maintain the high level of care it provides. I was fortunate to be a part of the search and interview process, and I believe we chose an excellent person to be the next leader of this facility. Like all of us, she will continue to learn and grow into this position with the help of the people around her. I often say we are only as good as the people we surround ourselves with, and she will be surrounded by some excellent people!
In closing, I feel very fortunate to be celebrating my 30th year in healthcare this year – all of which have been spent at Pocahontas Community Hospital, starting my career in radiology and then serving as CEO for the last 19 years. I want to thank Loring Hospital’s staff, providers, and board for not only allowing me to be the interim CEO, but more importantly, for welcoming me into the position. It has been my pleasure to get to know all of them a little better, and I look forward to all the great things to come in the future.