New CEO of the Juan F. Luis Hospital, Doug Koch. Photo Credit: THE JUAN F. LUIS HOSPITAL AND MEDICAL CENTER
The Juan F. Luis Hospital and Medical Center on Friday night announced Doug Koch as its new CEO, a veteran leader in the healthcare field with more than 20 years of what JFL described as "proven expertise."
The announcement comes at a pivotal time for the hospital, which is currently struggling to retain employees, especially nurses, and at the same time is in the midst of preparation to build a new medical facility to replace the current building.
Even so, Mr. Koch, who prior to joining JFL served as vice president of operations for Monument Health — a health system in western South Dakota comprised of 5 hospitals and 38 medical clinics and specialty centers — appears to be equipped to navigate the hospital at this critical juncture. Monument Health employs over 1,500 individuals.
Christopher Finch, chairman of the VI Government Hospitals and Health Facilities Board of Directors, thanked the Search Committee led by Dr. Jerry Smith, board vice-chairman and chairman of the HR Committee. “The Search Committee worked diligently to conduct a thorough search process with several rounds of interviews," he said. "Hours and hours of interviews were conducted over several nights and culminated in the secretion of Mr. Koch. Among his attributes and experiences we were impressed that he has led institutions from a one or two star rating to the top five star rating. He has worked his way from entry level radiology and nursing positions to top hospital management.”
Mr. Finch also thanked Dyma Williams for her service and long tenure as interim CEO. “Ms Williams has led the hospital through the difficult post disaster and pandemic times with passion, dedication, and hard work. We thank her and look forward to her key continued involvement with JFL’s leadership," he said.
The Schneider Regional Medical Center, meanwhile, recently announced an interim CEO to replace Dr. Luis Amaro, who served as acting chief executive of SRMC.
Below, a biography of Mr. Koch provided by JFL:
"Doug Koch is a visionary and passionate healthcare leader with 20+ years of proven expertise in building exceptional and high performing teams. He firmly believes that physicians and employees are the most valuable asset to the organization and that the patient needs to be at the center of everything we do in healthcare. He is known for shaping operations focused on quality and service excellence to lead transformative growth and process improvement. Proven capacity for forging valuable community partnerships, engaging with local community leaders to facilitate creative solutions to improve healthcare for the communities we call home. He has demonstrated a history of successful execution of medical groups, ambulatory surgery centers, cancer programs, cardiac centers, and executive leadership of acute care hospitals. Doug has extensive experience with healthcare construction, over his career he has led more than $1 billion worth of construction activities.
"Prior to joining Gov. Juan F. Luis Hospital and Medical Center, Doug served as a Vice President of Operations for Monument Health, a health system in western South Dakota comprised of 5 hospitals and 38 medical clinics and specialty centers. Monument Health is a member of the Mayo Clinic Care Network. Doug was a catalyst for program growth and expansion, physician recruitment, leading-edge process implementations, and state-of-the-art program innovations to provide world-class capabilities to the underserved patient population.
"Previously employed for one of the nation’s largest integrated health care systems in Wisconsin and Illinois, Doug’s successful leadership style and accomplishments allowed him to serve in a variety of different positions including the southeast Market President. During this time, he led the transformation of Kenosha medical center’s operations taking them from a Medicare 2-star to a 5-star rated facility.
"Doug understands the hard work and dedication it takes to work at every level of a health care organization. He began his career as a Radiologic Technologist and loved serving patients so much that he returned to school to become a Registered Nurse. He has worked as a trauma nurse, interventional technologist and held many different leadership positions over his health care tenure. He has served a vast array of communities from rural to metropolitan and has worked in almost all sectors of healthcare including for-profit, not -for-profit, critical access and safety net facilities.
"Mr. Koch has been a lifelong learner. While holding degrees in Radiology and Nursing, he also has a bachelor’s degree in Business from Colorado Technical University and a master’s degree in Healthcare Administration from The Ohio University. Doug is also a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.
"Having been raised on a 5th generation family farm in central South Dakota; Doug has a deep commitment to his family, community, and catholic faith. When not involved with work he enjoys all outdoor activities, traveling and spending time with his wife, Mary Lynn. She is his best friend and together they enjoy exploring and being part of the community in which they live. They have 4 beautiful grown daughters; Jenna, Kassidy, Hannah and Cameryn."
