[Vision2020] congratulations to BJ Swanson

[Tom Hansen]

Congratulations, Beedge.

Hopefully this is merely the beginning of the tributes and recognition so 
richly deserved by a person who has continuously, voluntarily, and without 
hesitation or qualification, been there with a helping hand.

B. J. Swanson . . . another of Moscow's finest.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

> Way to go, BJ!
> 
> As explained in the announcement from today's Tribune, BJ is now
> nationally-recognized for her decades of good work on behalf of Gritman
> Medical Center.
> 
> She is very deserving of that honor.  She is committed to
> community-focused health care and an incredible asset to this community.
> 
> BL
> 
> -------------------  
> 
> Lewiston Tribune, Sunday, March 8, 2009
> 
> National magazine recognizes work of Gritman board chairwoman
> 
> MOSCOW - Modern Healthcare magazine has named B.J. Swanson its 2009
> trustee of the year for small health care organizations with less than
> $75 million in annual revenue or fewer than 250 beds.
> 
> Swanson is the chairwoman of the board of directors of Gritman Medical
> Center in Moscow and has served on its board for 21 years.
> 
> The hospital has successfully responded to a variety of challenges under
> her leadership, according to an article in Modern Healthcare magazine
> about Swanson winning the award.
> 
> Moscow's population size made it vulnerable to a for-profit company
> opening an out-patient surgery clinic that could have cut into Gritman's
> revenues. Instead the hospital collaborated with area physicians and
> started the for-profit Palouse Surgery Center. The volume at the surgery
> center was at 200 cases per month as of January and it had a net income
> of close to $400,000 for 2008. 
> 
> Swanson was on site soon after the hospital's emergency room flooded
> when a driver accidentally hit a fire hydrant just outside Gritman's
> entrance in May 2007. She helped coordinate an effort to bail 18 inches
> of water out of the emergency room and move the emergency room to a
> temporary location at the hospital. 
> 
> Within four hours the emergency room was accepting patients again. A $2
> million renovated emergency room opened in October 2007, even though the
> insurance claim on the loss isn't yet settled. 
> 
> Swanson's work for the hospital is in a volunteer capacity. She is vice
> president and manager of AmericanWest Bank in Moscow.
> 



---------------------------------------------
This message was sent by First Step Internet.
           http://www.fsr.com/