SJLH Board picks Schwartz as interim

A chief executive officer with experience at small critical-access hospitals has been tabbed as interim CEO at St. John’s Lutheran Hospital.

John Schwartz has stepped in as CEO at St. John’s, filling the vacancy left by the depature of Bill Patten, who took a position in Wyoming.

“I’m delighted to be back in Montana and in Libby to help with the transition to your new hospital CEO,” Schwartz said. 

“The level and array of health-care services and the dedicated staff for your community are truly impressive.  The new hospital will add significantly to providing high quality services well into the future.” 

SJLH Board has indicated it is committed to a  seamless transition for the hospital and its 240 employees. 

Schwartz comes to St. John’s from Chicago, but is no stranger to Montana or to small critical-access hospitals like Libby’s.  

While working for Providence Health & Services in Seattle, Wash., Schwartz took many interim assignments throughout the northwest, the most recent of which was as Interim CEO at a 25-bed critical access hospital in Seaside, Ore., where he directed all operations for the hospital and its  22-bed extended-care unit. 

Moving closer to Libby, he was also asked to serve in 2006 as the Interim President of St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula, a 231-bed acute care hospital with 18-long-term beds, a 25-bed critical-access hospital, and 1,500 employees.

Schwartz earned his bachelor’s degree from Augsburg College in Minneapolis, Minn., and his masters of Hospital Administration from the University of Minnesota. 

He is currently a recertified Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE), and former Regent. 

 Schwartz was brought to  Libby by St. John’s Board of Trustees to lead the hospital while it continues a search for a permanent replacement. 

“One of our goals was to make sure that the change in administration would be as seamless a transition as possible.  Bringing John on board to run the hospital while we complete our search for a permanent CEO is making that possible,” said Kathy Nelson, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees. 

“He comes highly recommended, and we know that he will be a great fit for the team at St. John’s,” Nelson said.

When asked about the new hospital building project Nelson assured the Board of Trustees was following the process through. 

“The Board of Trustees will continue our work toward a new hospital.  We are diligently working through the process with HUD.  Representatives from HUD will be coming out for a site visit on Feb. 16,” she said.

“We will know more about the project once we get the results from both the C3 financial site visit that took place on Jan. 18 and follow-up site visit that will take place on the 16th.

“All good things take time and that is exactly what we are doing, taking our time to make sure that we have covered all the bases.  Our goal is to do our due-diligence and to be the best stewards possible of this project,” Nelson said.