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Bartlett Regional Hospital Board announces four finalists for new Chief Executive Officer; community is invited to meet CEO candidates

March 1, 2021 – News

After the recent retirement of Bartlett Regional Hospital Chief Executive Officer Chuck Bill and the completion of a nationwide search, the BRH Board of Directors has narrowed the pool of candidates for the CEO position to four finalists. They will visit the hospital on Friday, March 19 to participate in assessment exercises and have a final interview with the Board of Directors on Saturday, March 20.

The finalists are (in alphabetical order):

Christopher R. Bjornberg: Mr. Bjornberg is currently the Medical Center Director for the Department of Veterans Affairs in Walla Walla, WA where he has served in that role since January 2019.  Prior to his role with the VA, he provided leadership, either as an interim leader or CEO, to hospitals in Washington, Wyoming, Idaho (CEO of Cascade Medical Center), and Nebraska (CEO of Friend Community Healthcare System). Additionally, since 2014, he has been co-owner of New Horizons Mental Wellness Clinics in Pocatello, ID. Mr. Bjornberg has a MBA in Healthcare Management and Accounting and Finance and a BA in Business Management, all from American Intercontinental University.

Jeanine Gentry: Ms. Gentry worked in human resources and corporate training prior to her first role in healthcare leadership at St. John’s Lutheran Hospital in Libby, MT in 1998.  In 2011, she became the CEO at St. Charles Madras Hospital (formerly Mountain View Hospital District) and eventually, St. Charles Prineville Hospital, both in central Oregon. Ms. Gentry is currently the CEO at Steele Memorial Medical Center in Salmon, ID, where she has been in that role since 2016. Ms. Gentry has a Bachelor of Arts in Human Resource Development from Brigham Young University, a Master of Healthcare Administration (MHA) from Montana State University, and is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Rose Lawhorne: Ms. Lawhorne is the current Chief Nursing Officer at Bartlett Regional Hospital. Her career at Bartlett Regional Hospital started in 1993 and she has also worked as the Assistant Chief Clinical Officer, Senior Director, Emergency Department Director, Staff Nurse, and as a Data Entry/Registration Clerk. Ms. Lawhorne has an Associate of Science in Nursing degree from the University of Alaska, and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Master of Science in Nursing, and Master of Health Administration from the University of Phoenix.

Shawn Morrow: Mr. Morrow has a BA from Brigham Young University, a MBA from Murray State University and is a Fellow of the GE Healthcare Management Academy and the American College of Healthcare Executives.  He provided leadership to hospitals in Tennessee, Oklahoma, and Alaska (Bartlett Regional Hospital from 2007 -2012) prior to joining Intermountain Healthcare in 2012. His tenure with Intermountain Healthcare includes leading Heber Valley Hospital and Park City Hospital, and since 2017 his current role as the Administrator/CEO of LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City, UT.

Before the Board of Directors decided on the four finalists, the BRH CEO Recruitment Committee conducted phone interviews with 13 candidates. In total, 52 applied for the CEO position.

A finalist process open to the public will be arranged on Friday, March 19 and feedback on the candidates will be sought and reviewed by the BRH Board of Directors. The Board of Directors will be interviewing candidates in executive session on March 20.  More detailed information on the finalist candidate process and how to provide feedback on the candidates will be released at a later date.

Chief Financial Officer Kevin Benson is serving as interim CEO until the hiring process is completed.

For more information, contact BRH Human Resources Director Dallas Hargrave at 907-586-0225 or [email protected]