New CEO excited to move here

The soon-to-be newest chief executive officer of Coulee Medical Center attended Monday night's public hospital district commissioner's meeting, saying he and his family are excited to be moving here.

Jonathan Owens and family will be moving to the community on Friday, but Monday was the first of two votes of the commission required under state law to seat him as the man to replace current CEO Debbie Bigelow, who is retiring.

"We're thrilled to death to be here," he said. "We feel like we've found home, and we're really excited about it."

Owens said he has served as CEO of two other "critical access" hospitals, a federal designation that allows for better compensation from Medicare and Medicaid.

Owens is moving here from Kansas.

In other business, Bigelow announced the medical center will offer cataract surgeries beginning next week. CMC is partnering with two doctors and Sightpath Medical to offer cataract removal and lens implants.

It's one more expansion of service that has the hospital, built five years ago, looking for more room, even as they plan to open a daycare for employees and are exploring the possibility, endorsed by the board Monday, of offering a nursing school so people who already live in the area could study to attain a nursing degree. It would help eliminate the need to bring in contract nurses, an expense that ran about $144,000 last month due to a nationwide shortage of nurses.

Owens noted a hospital he worked for had 64 open nursing positions.

Chief Financial Officer Paul Babcock reported CMC had ended its first month so far this year in the black, squeaking out a net gain of $5,915 in June on record revenues, grossing $3.4 million.