By Jim Misunas
jmisunas@gbtribune.com

LARNED — Pawnee Valley Community Hospital’s miracle worker is leaving.
Matt Heyn, Pawnee Valley Community Hospital’s CEO, announced to hospital staff and Pawnee County commissioners that he has been selected as the new chief executive officer at Ottawa’s Ransom Memorial Hospital.
Heyn’s last day at PVCH will be June 23. He will start at Ransom Memorial Hospital July 1.   
“I look forward to the challenges that a larger hospital will offer and an opportunity to be closer to family, but I will certainly miss the Larned community and the many friendships we have made,” Heyn said.
Heyn plans to return to Pawnee County for special events.
“This community has touched our lives in so many ways and it will always have a special place in our hearts,” he said. “Melinda and I plan to return as often as we can, especially for the Golf Classic, the Charity Gala, the ribbon-cutting for the MRI and of course, the hunting.
Heyn was hired as hospital CEO after Pawnee County was able to secure the critical access license and signed a management agreement with Hays Medical Center.  
During his tenure, the hospital has grown from 16 employees to a staff of more than 90 employees. The replacement hospital was built, and the hospital continues to grow and expand services to the community. PVCH has exceeeded $3 million in monthly revenue.   
“We thank Matt for his leadership these last four years,” shared Shae Veach, Hays Medical Center vice president for regional operations. “We wish the very best for him and his family as they enter this new chapter in their lives.”
Veach will serve as interim administrator until a new CEO is hired for PVCH. He has been involved in PVCH’s management since 2010 when Hays Medical Center first partnered with Pawnee County
“Our goal is to have a new CEO hired within the next few months,” Veach said. “The beauty of the unique partnership Pawnee County and PVCH has with Hays Medical Center is that the transition will be seamless without any disruption of services to the community while we are going through the hiring process.”
Veach said he is confident Pawnee Valley is on firm ground to overcome the loss of Heyn’s leadership.
 “With the community’s support, the commissioners’ foresight and the hard work of the PVCH team under Heyn’s leadership along with the partnership with Hays Medical Center, Pawnee Valley Community Hospital’s growth has become one incredible success story,” he said. “As we move forward we will continue to build on the success that Heyn and the PVCH team has helped create with the community’s continued support.”