Adventist Health Tillamook Leaders Complete Rural Hospital Leadership Certifications
Recently announced by the National Rural Health Association (NRHA), Adventist Health Tillamook President Eric Swanson received official designation as a certified Rural Hospital Chief Executive Officer and Patient Care Executive Officer and Heather Thompson, RN, received official designation as a certified rural hospital Chief Nursing Officer.
These certifications are led by mentors in healthcare handpicked for their experience to meet the common challenges rural hospitals across the country currently face, mirrored by many of the same issues in Tillamook County related to growth, the economy and recruiting and retaining staff resulting in unpredictable financial pressures. This program led by the NRHA leads rural hospitals to thrive, not just survive, and to improve the quality of life in rural America by effectively leading their hospitals and communities to create a culture of wellness.
“The healthcare industry overall is under economic pressure to maintain services while staying out of the red,” said Eric Swanson, Adventist Health Tillamook President. Swanson continues, “What is unique to us is the strength of our community to develop local healthcare staff through strategic partnerships, and we’re also a community dedicated 
to using local business anytime that is possible, including the high-quality healthcare that we will continue to need and develop to meet future demand in our evolving and growing county.”
Designed in response to the escalating rural hospital demands, NRHA’s Rural Hospital CEO program is led by a team of successful rural hospital executives tasked with identifying the specific knowledge base and leadership skills necessary for all rural hospital executives to lead their teams in a challenging environment successfully. The NRHA is a national nonprofit membership organization with more than 21,000 members. The association’s mission is to provide leadership on rural health issues through advocacy, communications, education and research. For more information about their curriculum and about the NRHA, visit ruralhealth.us.
