Baraga County Memorial Hospital has hired a new CEO, to come on board in January. Tim Zwickey was brought on to replace John Tembreull, who announced his retirement in the spring of 2010. Tembreull has served as the hospital's head administrator for 24 years.
The hospital's executive committee started the search process after Tembreull's announcement, and hired Zwickey as a result of their CEO search.
Zwickey is a native of Minnesota, most recently of Willow River, Minn. For the past 12 years, he was employed by Essentia Community Hospitals and Clinics, holding four different executive positions. Essentia runs 11 hospitals and 27 clinics in rural areas in Minnesota, Idaho, Wisconsin and Montana. Most recently, Zwickey was the interim chief operating officer at Great Falls Clinic Medical Center.
"He has a lot of experience as a health care administrator," says Bill Coffey, chair of the board of trustees for Baraga County Memorial Hospital. "We were especially impressed with him because we're a critical access hospital, and he has critical access hospital experience."
Zwickey has extensive experience working with critical access hospitals, which are hospitals like BCMH with 15 or fewer beds.
He holds a Bachelor of Science degree with majors in accounting and business administration, as well as holding a Masters degree in business administration. In addition, he is licensed as a nursing home administrator.
He is married to wife Michele, who also has more than twenty years experience in the health care field, and they have three children, ages 27, 18 and 17. The family is looking forward to relocating to the area, as their interests include snowmobiling, four-wheeling, sailing, camping and traveling.
Writer: Sam Eggleston
Source: Bill Coffey, Baraga County Memorial Hospital