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Hospital CEO Resigns |
Bill Hudson | 5/1/08
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The Upper San Juan Health Service District Board of Directors has scheduled a special meeting for tonight, Thursday, May 1 at 7pm. to address issues concerning the sudden resignation of Pagosa Mountain Hospital CEO Dan Boatman.
According to USJHSD chair Neal Townsend, the meeting at PMH will most likely be held in executive session, while the board discusses a severance package for Boatman. The CEO resigned “for personal reasons” on Monday, April 28, Townsend said. When asked whether the board will make any decisions or announcements following the executive session, Townsend said he thought that was unlikely.
Boatman’s resignation was effective immediately on Monday, Townsend said. He said the search for a new CEO will be handled by the District’s search committee.
“That’s a rather expensive process,” Townsend offered. “And it’s not something that we can start immediately; there are a lot of notices and requirements that need to be put in place before we start the process.”
 The USJHSD hired Boatman last year, after a lengthy — and somewhat frustrating — search for a CEO to manage the new hospital, which opened its doors in January this year. The CEO job had first been offered to Ronald Ommen of Jackson, Wyoming, who declined the position after a visit to Pagosa Springs. The District then offered the job to Jim Tavery of Prosser, Washington; he also declined the job, citing conflicts with his wife’s profession as an emergency room nurse and a District employment policy preventing spouses from working together.
Boatman was serving as administrator of the Community Behavioral Health Hospital in Rochester, Minnesota when he was hired as the PMH CEO last summer. Boatman had helped plan the Minnesota facility’s opening and implementation, hired and trained its entire staff, and implemented its required financial and clinical care record systems. Boatman had also served as CEO of the Cannon Falls Community Hospital, after leading its strategic planning process and obtaining “Critical Access” designation.
The USJHSD had hoped Boatman would help obtain a similar “Critical Access” designation for PMH, since the hospital’s financial planning has always been based upon that designation.
Pagosa Springs government entities seems to be having difficulties holding on to their managerial staff lately — Boatman is the third key government manager to resign so far this year, following the resignations of Archuleta County Administrator Bob Campbell in January and Town of Pagosa Springs Town Manager Mark Garcia last week. All three managers had asked that their resignations be effective immediately.
USJHSD has been through a string of management personnel in recent years, following the contentious tenure of Health District manager Dee Jackson. During Jackson’s tenure, the District was operating its new Dr. Mary Fisher Medical Center as a clinic. That clinic was closed on 2005 due to alleged financial issues, and the building has since been incorporated as part of the new hospital. In the interim, the Health District ran through a half dozen Operations Managers for its EMS ambulance service.
Boatman had apparently come to Pagosa Springs with high hopes. According to an article by reporter Chuck McGuire published in the Pagosa Springs SUN last year, Boatman had known about the two previous candidates, Ommen and Tavery, who had first accepted, and then declined, the hospital CEO position. Referring to himself and his wife Grace, Boatman had told McGuire, “We are definitely coming. We’re coming with the intent that we’ll stay for at least 10 years — but we’ll see.” |
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