Interim CEOs hired for MCH and MRHC

SUPERIOR – Last week, the Mineral Community Hospital appointed interim chief executive officers to run MCH and the Mineral Regional Health Center.

The new CEOs are Larry Putnam, interim CEO of MCH, and Cindy Stergar, interim CEO of MRHC. Both are native Montanans and have previous experience running healthcare services. Both also have a fondness for small communities. Stergar said she is excited to work in Mineral County and feels the community has a close connection with the clinic.

“There were really good things happening here,” said Stergar. “It felt like a really good place to come because people were engaged and wanted to improve the clinic.”

Both Putnam and Stergar are well qualified for their positions and went to school specifically for this kind of job. Putnam said he has a Masters in Business Administration from University of Montana. Much of Putnam’s experience has been with medical facilities, claiming over 30 years with critical access hospitals. He said some of these positions were as full-time CEOs.

He related how, for about five years, the first hospital he ran had approximately 1,000 residents and 900 employees. Putnam moved around to management in different centers, clinics and facilities throughout the northwest, staying for various lengths of time, before deciding to retire. However, retirement did not fit for him and he decided to return to the workforce in a part-time capacity.

“Since then, about six years ago, this is my fifth interim CEO assignment,” Putnam said.

Stergar said her background was varied and described it as interesting to think about. She has a Masters in Applied Behavioral Science from Whitworth College in Washington State. She started as a teacher in Seattle while volunteering for non-profits. She has also worked for a bank in Seattle as a leadership trainer. She said she moved back and forth between Montana and Seattle several times before settling into working on clinic boards in Montana.

Stergar also worked as the director of a community health center, which developed to a large size in three rural counties of Montana, and in the Governor’s office during the legislative session. Most recently, Stergar worked in healthcare to improve other organizations’ efficiency and helped increase their value to patients.

“I thought [this opportunity] would be a great way to focus again on health centers and help them take a look at what’s going on,” she said.

Stergar has worked with community health centers for approximately 20 years with 14 running clinics in Montana. She said she felt the job at MRHC would be an adventure.

Both Putnam and Stergar said they are pleased with the boards and staffs of MCH and MRHC.

Putnam described the MCH staff as “some of the best” he has worked with in some time.

“All the components are there, in this community, to have outstanding healthcare system,” he said.

Putnam and Stergar said they are both dedicated to doing everything they can to bring that healthcare system to Mineral County while they are here. They expect to only be in the position long enough to transition to a new full-time CEO. Neither has any expectation of being offered the position on a permanent basis, nor would they likely accept if they were.

“We both have our permanent residents in other towns,” said Stergar. “But it’s lovely to be here, it’s gorgeous right now.”

Neither has any thoughts on how long they will hold the position, saying it depends on the current job market and the season. Putnam mentioned how it might be more difficult to find someone at this point in the year, with Thanksgiving and Christmas right around the corner. Putnam and Stergar agreed the most likely time frame for finding new CEOs would be sometime after the new year, at the earliest.

Until such time, however, both interim CEOs are excited to have the positions and work with the Mineral County community.

“The people here are incredible,” said Stergar. “They’re just incredibly committed to making the community that they live in a solid, good [one]. It’s really fun to work with them.”