Cejka Search Assists Tri-State Memorial Hospital & Medical in CEO Search
January 19, 2021 – Cejka Search has placed Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center chief operating officer Kym Clift as the new CEO of the Tri-State Memorial Hospital & Medical Campus in Clarkston, WA. She will officially start her new role on March 22, succeeding Don Wee, who has been CEO for 12 years,. He will be retiring in April after assisting Ms. Clift in transitioning into the position. “After an extensive search, the board is fortunate to have found someone as outstanding as Kym to lead Tri-State Memorial Hospital,” said Steve Claassen, Tri-State Memorial Hospital board chair. “Kym has the vision and leadership qualities that will allow Tri-State to continue thriving. She has also demonstrated a commitment in her many years of experience to ensuring that care is patient-centered, which is certainly at the core of everything Tri-State does.”
Ms. Clift has over 25 years of experience and is a native of Washington. In 2014, Ms. Clift joined Samaritan Health Services, a 188 bed, Level II trauma center in in Corvallis, OR, in Willamette Valley. She also has service line responsibilities for three critical access hospitals. Her experience includes working in multiple facets within a national health plan, leading the revenue cycle operations for an extensive integrated health system in the Pacific Northwest, and a national EMS/pre-hospital provider based in Scottsdale, AZ. Ms. Clift is a fellow with the American College of Healthcare Executives and received her MBA from Colorado State University.
“Beyond loving this region, what drew me to Tri-State Memorial Hospital is that I truly saw the mission of the patient above all else embodied in those I met,” said Ms. Clift. “Tri-State offers great value by providing care of the highest quality, in a safe environment, and meeting and exceeding patients’ expectations. I want to help continue growing that in the ever-changing and ever-challenging world of healthcare.”
Over 60 years ago, a group of Lewis Clark Valley community members set out to build a new, larger hospital that could serve the community and surrounding areas for years to come. Today, the board of directors, administration, staff, and providers at Tri-State Memorial Hospital & Medical Campus serve a 10-county region in Washington, Idaho and Oregon. The organization is a not-for-profit, community-owned hospital, offering acute care as well as a DNV GL Healthcare USA accredited critical access facility.
Healthcare Recruiters
Cejka Search, based in St. Louis, has provided recruiting services exclusively to the healthcare industry for more than 35 years. Its client roster includes Georgetown University Hospital, Northwestern Memorial, Levine Cancer Institute, St. John Providence Health System, Tenet, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, Centene Corp., Cape Fear Valley Health and Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center.
The firm has conducted searches for an array of roles, including chief medical information officer, chief compliance officer, chief of oncology, chief medical officer, chief of pediatrics, chief of neurology, chief nursing officer, CEO, CFO, COO, department chair, chief clinical officer, medical director and chief strategy officer.
Cejka Search also recently placed Ben Vallier as the new CEO of the Iowa Clinic. He succeeded Ed Brown, who helped found the clinic in 1994 and led the organization for more than 25 years. The assignment was led by Mark Madden, the recruitment firm’s executive vice president and managing principal. “Coming off of the retirement of a tenured and highly regarded predecessor, the Iowa Clinic placed significant value on securing a candidate with success in leading a patient-first organization, a relationship builder with a servant leader approach and an entrepreneurial spirit,” Mr. Madden said. “With the search taking place during the COVID-19 crisis, the organization also placed a great deal of emphasis on engaging an agile CEO with a proven ability to lead through change and to serve as a visionary strategist.”
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
