News

LA GRANDE – Today, the Grande Ronde Hospital, Inc. (GRH) Board of Trustees announces with great pleasure Jeremy P. Davis, MHA, has accepted the position of President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for the Corporation.

“I am very pleased with our choice, and am confident Jeremy and his family are going to love La Grande. We went through quite a recruitment process, but Jeremy stood out from the very beginning. At the end, we had it narrowed to two great candidates. We went back to the original qualities and attributes we felt were the best fit for a new leader, and Jeremy ticked all the boxes. His enthusiasm, leadership style and track record of accomplishments are exactly what we were looking for,” said GRH Board Chair Brad Trisler.

Jeremy will assume his new role on November 26, 2018 replacing current President and CEO Jim Mattes, who announced his intention to retire last April. Jim has served the corporation and the community in this capacity since January 1984. He is firmly committed to ensuring the leadership transition is smooth, and that the new CEO is successful.

“Jeremy has demonstrated outstanding leadership qualities and is an excellent choice to follow me as CEO. His background and experience are well suited for the position, and his personality and eastern Oregon roots will fit well into our community,” said Mattes.

Jeremy has 12 years of healthcare industry experience, six in management, five of which have been in the C-suite and equivalent roles. When asked during the recruitment process what quality he believes is most important to him as a person, and as a leader, he answered, “Credibility. Say it, do it or explain why." Jeremy comes to La Grande from Evanston, Wyoming, where he has, since January 2016, been CEO for Evanston Regional Hospital, a 42-bed facility with annual net revenues of approximately $35 million. The hospital is owned by Quorum Health Corporation (QHC), a for-profit organization that manages primarily rural hospitals. While there, Jeremy was the recipient of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) Early Career Healthcare Executive Regent’s Award which recognizes ACHE members who have significantly contributed toward the advancement of healthcare management excellence.

Born and raised in Baker City, OR, Jeremy spent his final summer before earning his undergraduate degree in an internship at the former St. Elizabeth Health Services in Baker City. This experience sparked his interest in healthcare administration and fueled his particular passion for rural healthcare.

Jeremy understands the challenges facing rural healthcare, as more and more small hospitals close their doors or are absorbed by larger systems. The difficulties in providing state-of-the-art care with limited resources and higher costs are significant. Jeremy understands years of steady planning, smart financial decisions and forward-thinking business strategies have allowed GRH, particularly as a non-for-profit corporation, to thrive independently far beyond that of so many other Critical Access Hospitals.

“This organization is a gem. One of the many things that attracted me is the independence. Often times, larger systems do not afford you the same level of innovation or action. I intend to do my part to keep GRH independent and locally governed,” Jeremy said.

After graduating from Brigham Young University-Idaho in Rexburg, ID, Jeremy moved to Columbus, OH, where he earned a Masters in Health Administration from Ohio State University. Jeremy then earned an Administrative Fellowship at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Oakland, CA; a large, private, not-for-profit medical center, and an affiliate of Sutter Health. In 2009, he joined the team at Sutter Health’s headquarters in Sacramento, CA, to collaborate on improvement initiatives; the culmination of several projects generated $1.1 million in savings across the system’s vast ambulatory and acute care locations. In 2012, he was appointed Associate Administrator of Sutter Coast Hospital (SCH), a 49-bed facility in Crescent Bay, CA.

After four years with SCH, Jeremy was recruited to serve as CEO for Evanston Regional Hospital. His accomplishments during his time there include consistent ranking in the top of the QHC hospitals in the executive quality dashboard, being one of 213 hospitals nationally recognized as a 5-star HCAHPS facility in 2018, consistent performer for measuring operating cash flow, expanding growth in surgery and recruitment of physicians and providers; leading a Telehealth-ICU/stroke partnership with the University of Utah, improving medical staff satisfaction scores by 20 percent, and achieving in 2017 the highest employee satisfaction scores in nine years.

Jeremy and his wife Kelli have four children; the oldest is 11 and the youngest is 3, and are looking to set down roots to settle in for life. Kelli, while being a full-time mother, is also very active in the community. Their children have varied interests in music and sports. For a young family, the quality of the La Grande School system, local sports opportunities for their school age children, as well as a thriving arts community, were all important factors in choosing La Grande. Because family is very important to Jeremy and Kelli, another major consideration for the move is that they have extended family within easy proximity to La Grande.

The GRH family anticipates a bright future with Jeremy on board, and look forward to his leadership. We are also eager to welcome his young and vibrant family as they settle in, set down roots, and become a part of our community for years to come. Please help us make Jeremy, his wife Kelli, and their family feel welcomed to Union County.

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Grande Ronde Hospital, Inc. is a state and nationally recognized and award winning not-for-profit health system that includes a 25-bed Critical Access Hospital and 12 outpatient clinics and one virtual care clinic. We are located in Union County, Oregon, serving our base population of more than 25,000 residents, as well as providing services for the greater Eastern Oregon region. Since 1907, Grande Ronde Hospital has led this region in efforts to stabilize and secure rural health care services for the communities we serve, while also working to improve the quality of life of all our residents. Today we employ more than 700 people, all dedicated to providing quality health care services to our patients. We offer a broad range of diagnostic, surgical and therapeutic outpatient services, a Level IV Trauma Emergency Services Department, a Family Birthing Center; Physical, Occupational and Speech Rehabilitation Therapy and Sports Medicine Services, and Home Care Services providing both home health and hospice care needs. We also operate 13 primary and specialty care clinics: the Cardiology Clinic, the Dermatology Clinic, the Elgin Clinic, the Hematology & Oncology Clinic, the Neurology Clinic, the ReadyCare (virtual) Clinic, the Regional Medical Clinic, the Sleep Clinic, the Specialty Clinic (General Surgery, Orthopedics & Sports Medicine, Otolaryngology (ENT), and Urology), the Walk-In Clinic, the Wound Care Clinic, the Union Clinic, and the Women’s & Children’s Clinic (Gynecology, Obstetrics and Pediatrics). For more information, please visit www.grh.org.