Curt Colson, of Hoisington, recently delivered some news to the Board of Directors at Clara Barton Hospital, he will be resigning as president and chief executive officer, effective Dec. 31st.
The news has raised many questions. Where will he go? Why is he leaving? Who will take his place?
Colson has taken the position of Regional Vice President for Great Plains Health Alliance. The family hasn’t started packing, yet, though.
“You will never know just how difficult of a decision it was to step down as CEO of Clara Barton Hospital. CBH is one of the most highly regarded Critical Access Hospitals in Kansas, and we have grown to love Hoisington,” reports Colson. He, his wife, Liana, and their two children, Seth and Samantha, are staying in Hoisington. “That was one of the biggest considerations of this decision. We had decided we wanted to stay a long time ago; this is a great community to raise a family in.”  
Allowing him to work from a home office, the position with Great Plains Health Alliance will have Colson traveling to multiple hospitals in the region on a regular basis. Great Plains Health Alliance is a not-for-profit healthcare management system with offices in Phillipsburg, Hays and Wichita and is dedicated to helping rural and Critical Access Hospitals run more effectively and efficiently.
“I will truly miss working with the great team at Clara Barton. The Physicians, Physician Assistants and all staff at CBH work extremely hard to ensure everyone receives the best care possible.” says Colson. “Although providing quality healthcare can be exceedingly difficult, all successful hospitals must also be well managed and have strong visionary leaders. Jim Blackwell and Jane Schepmann have proven themselves to be two of the finest, most capable healthcare leaders in Kansas and the Board of Directors develop high-level strategic direction and remain fully committed to excellence in healthcare at Clara Barton Hospital.” he adds.
Colson started as president and CEO of Clara Barton Hospital in February of 2011, and has grown the hospital in that time by increasing services provided and expanding facilities to meet the ever-changing healthcare needs of the service area. Some of the more notable accomplishments include: expansion of clinic services to include walk-in services; increased surgical services through the addition of Surgical and Orthopedic service clinics; Telemedicine; expansion of Therapy Services; and other facilities improvements.
The opportunity available at Great Plains Health Alliance will allow Colson to advance personally and professionally and to use his knowledge and expertise to make positive impact upon healthcare on a much greater scale.
“We are very happy for Curt,” reports Jane Schepmann, Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer at Clara Barton Hospital. “This position will allow him to ensure even more people are able to receive high-quality care at their local hospitals. Curt is passionate about patient care, and I know he will provide excellent leadership to the hospitals he is in charge of.”
When speaking with Jim Blackwell, CFO of Clara Barton Hospital he stated, “Clara Barton Hospital has had the good fortune to have excellent leaders at critical times during our history. I have had the privilege of serving with four of these individuals during my tenure and can say that Curt’s shoes will be hard to fill. He has been a dedicated CEO with great vision and compassion. Great Plains Health Alliance is very fortunate to have Curt serving in their management team. He will be sorely missed here at CBH.”
The Hospital Board of Directors has accepted Colson’s resignation, and has begun the search for a replacement. Great effort will be made to identify the candidate that is best for Clara Barton Hospital and the community of Hoisington as soon as practicable. In the meantime, a strong administrative and leadership team at Clara Barton Hospital will be able to adequately handle the day-to-day tasks and responsibilities of operation. Clara Barton Hospital is currently accepting applications for the open position; for more information, on this position or any other vacancies, go to www.clarabartonhospital.com or contact John Moshier, Human Resources Director at (620) 653-2114.