This December marks my fifth anniversary as president and CEO of St. Charles Health System.
It’s amazing how five years can feel like a long time and an instant all at once.
When I reflect on that time, I’m so proud of the milestones we have achieved as a team. I didn’t know at first that replacing our electronic health record would be a necessity. Nor did I realize right away how desperately we would need to add space to our facilities to accommodate a rapidly growing community.
Together, we have achieved so much.
The implementation of Epic as our electronic health record – a project that touched every one of our 4,500 caregivers, has advanced our ability to provide the safest possible care. We constructed and opened a new patient tower in Bend, are currently expanding our Prineville campus and completed a remodel and addition in Madras as well.
We opened a clinic in La Pine to serve our southern Deschutes County residents and are working on plans to expand cancer services in Redmond.
During my time here, we celebrated an incredible 100 years of providing care for all.
These accomplishments are just the tip of the iceberg. Every day, St. Charles caregivers save lives inside and outside of our walls – because the reality is our greatest strength is in our people.
But we couldn’t do any of it without you. Quite simply, without the support and trust of the communities we serve, these many milestones would not have been possible to reach.
Thank you for being such an important part of the past five years. I’m looking forward to what we’ll accomplish together next.
Sincerely,
Joe Sluka
President and CEO
St. Charles Health System
