Pioneer Memorial Hospital welcomes new CEO
Prineville, Ore. - Bob Gomes officially began on Feb. 1 as the new CEO at Pioneer Memorial Hospital in Prineville. Gomes recently moved to Prineville from Helena, Mont. In Helena, he served as the Vice President of Physician Services for St. Peter's Hospital, a 120-bed facility with more than 900 employees.
"We are excited to welcome Bob to the CHC family," said James A. Diegel, FACHE, president and CEO of CHC. "He has extensive experience in physician recruitment, which will be beneficial to the Prineville community as we work to increase the number of providers available to serve patients in Crook County."
Gomes was responsible for recruiting more than 20 physicians to the Helena community during his time at St. Peter's and he implemented a physician-led governance structure that increased physician participation and decision making in the organization. He said he has worked in health care administration for more than 20 years, mostly in the U.S. Air Force.
"I'm pretty passionate about patients and doing everything I can to support the providers who serve them," Gomes said. "I'm looking forward to working with the community to support health care. It's all about providing quality health care in Prineville."
Gomes will replace Joe Smith who has served in the interim CEO role in Prineville for several months.
"I'd like to thank Joe for the fantastic work he has done in Prineville, including his role in helping to create the Rimrock Health Alliance," Diegel said. The new nonprofit organization has a goal to improve the community's perception of health care, to recruit more providers to the area and to implement an electronic medical record system.
About Pioneer Memorial Hospital
Pioneer Memorial Hospital (PMH) in Prineville, Ore., has served the people of Crook County since June, of 1950. PMH is a 25-bed acute care, Critical Access Hospital and employs approximately 185 caregivers. PMH is a proud member of Cascade Healthcare Community, Inc. CHC is headquartered in Bend, Oregon. CHC also owns and operates the St. Charles medical centers in Bend and Redmond, and provides management services for Mountain View Hospital (MVH) in Madras. CHC is a private, not-for-profit Oregon corporation and is the largest employer in Central Oregon with more than 3,000 caregivers in Bend, Redmond and Prineville. In addition, there are more than 350 active medical staff members and nearly 200 visiting medical staff members who partner with CHC to provide a wide range of care and service to our communities.
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