Duane Francis, CEO and president of Mid-Columbia Medical Center, in The Dalles has announced his retirement, and expects to step down in late October. Francis, who joined Mid-Columbia in 1984 as its controller, has held the top position since 2002. In earlier roles, he was its chief financial officer and vice president of finance.
Mid-Columbia is among six independent hospitals in the state that’s not succumbed to a larger hospital network, and is financially healthy, according to the latest documents obtained by The Lund Report. Its net income grew 46 percent in the 2014 fiscal year; its net patient review increased by 11.44 percent, and its profit margin landed in the black.
The hospital serves about 50,000 people in Oregon and Washington, and was the first in the world to fully implement what’s known as the Planetree philosophy of care, a patient-centered, holistic approach to healthcare.
Francis’ successor has not yet been named, and a search is underway to find a new CEO.
As president, Francis has overseen:
- A $200M multidimensional Healthcare Corp. employing over 900 persons and a medical staff of over 100 including over 30 employed physicians and allied health providers
- Service and revenue growth of over 40%
- Led new service expansion including the innovative Celilo Cancer Center
- Introduced a world-class Cardiology program into the Columbia River Gorge Community, and
- Opened operations of the 60,000 SF Water's Edge Health & Wellness Center that's currently operating 20% ahead of projections.
Francis has also been recognized as a distinguished / designated Planetree healthcare facility for its innovative and holistic philosophy of providing care.
Mid-Columbia currently ranks in the 97th percentile nationally in HCAHPS, infection rates and other quality metrics, and was named sixth in the top ten places in Oregon to work as judged in a Workforce Dynamics employee survey sponsored by The Oregonian in 2012
Diane can be reached at [email protected].
