A New Boone Meet the new community members
that make up the new Boone Health.
T
he process for Boone Hospital Center to become independent was a project that was in the works for five years, but the end result was well worth the wait. After a 32-year long lease with BJC HealthCare, the hospital had several options to explore to see what was right for the community. They could extend the lease with BJC, or explore an opportunity to work with MU Health that could create a relationship to help both parties, which they explored for about eight months. But in the end, it was all about what the community wanted and needed. And the community wanted the community hospital to remain just that â a community hospital. So, after some more exploring, the journey to become independent began. âBecause of our low costs and high-quality ratings in the region, our consulting firm told us that they thought we could make it as an independent institution,â Jerry Kennett, MD, board of trustees chair, says. In the process of transitioning to be independent, the board of trustees, made up of Dr. Kennett, Randy Morrow, Jan Beckett, Greg Steinhoff, and Bob McDavid, felt it was important to add other members of the community with different areas of expertise to the governing board. Dr. Kennett explains, âThe process [the board] is going through is that the trustees are leasing the hospital with the approval of the county commissioners to a new 501(c)3 entity.â This new entity is Boone Health, and it incorporates more than just the hospital. It incorporates the hospitalâs physician platform, home health and hospice, and overtime, and the trustees hope to add entities to this list. Meet the New Boone Health âWeâve added expertise in the areas of education, health care, finance, business, insurance, and human resources,â Dr. Kennett says. âWeâre thrilled with the individuals who have been willing to give their time and expertise to be on the governing board of the hospital.â Going forward, Boone Health will be the governing body, but will allow CEO Troy Greer and his team to be the managing and operational directors of the hospital. After pulling together a list of community members the board felt would be great additions, the governing board of five grew to a board of 11 with the latest additions of Barry Orscheln, Gary W. Thompson, Stacye Smith, Dianne M. Lynch, PhD, Charles P. Bondurant, MD, FABNS, FACS and Judy Starr.
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BOONE HEALTH
Spring 2021