WORLAND — John Adlesich has taken over as the new CEO of South Big Horn County Hospital. He officially started on June 16.

Adlesich said he grew up in the health care field. “My mom was a nurse. I started working in medical clinics when I was 16. I enjoy helping people. In health care administration I’m able to help the people who actually care for the patients and I enjoy doing that,” he said.

Adlesich attended undergraduate and graduate school at Oregon State University, where he received a Bachelor of Science in political science with a minor in history. He then received his masters in public health/ health management.

Adlesich said he has worked in medical clinics as well as managed medical clinics. “I did HEDIS which is Health Effective Data Information in Corvallis, Ore. Then I went to John Day, Ore., a small remote town, where I was the director of quality and risk management as well as the compliance officer.

“When I was picking a career, I wanted to pick one where I actually help people. I think health care is special in that you do get to help people and you often run across some of the most vulnerable people in one of their most vulnerable times. I enjoy doing that. I never had much of a desire to actually do hands on clinical patient care, but I enjoy making sure that those individuals who are providing that care have all the tools and resources for them to do their very best. I think finances are very important both to the health care organization as well to the patients. I strive to ensure that we’re able to provide the best care at the lowest price to our patients,” Adlesich said.

He said, “I always look at the patients as how would I have wanted my mom, grandmother and grandfather to be treated. I think it’s important that we strive to make sure that each patient has a great experience coming here so that they will come back and be happy receiving their care here.”

“I came here because of the hospital, the staff, the providers, and the board. It truly is a special group of individuals who are doing amazing things here. I’ve felt very welcomed and I’ve been impressed with the staff skill level. Jackie Claudson and the board did a great job with the expansion. I think that the expansion is now providing state of the art equipment for our staff to do their very best. It was a place I wanted to be, I think we have a lot of potential to continue to grow this place, provide quality care,” Adlesich said.

“I think right now we need to focus on continuing to improve the patient experience. We need to come to come to the point where we are the provider of choice for residents of the county. Other plans for the hospital would include, ensuring our staff can perform at their very best and providing them with the tools and training to do that,” He said.

“A lot of the vision for the hospital is set by the board of directors and they are doing a great job. Margie Molitor did a phenomenal job. I couldn’t have imagined coming in if Margie hadn’t been here. Margie did some tremendous things and made a lot of great changes and it made the transition much easier and has allowed me to be more successful,” Adlesich said.