This is an article in the Oshkosh Northwestern. I have met Mr. Tavary, and will be having lunch with him this Friday. I like his optimism and energy toward building a new facility:
New CEO at Ripon Medical CenterBy Patricia Wolffof The Northwestern
RIPON – Jim Tavary, the new chief executive officer at Ripon Medical Center, is taking the reins of the health care organization at a challenging time. The country may be in a state of financial turmoil, but Tavary sees no reason for Ripon Medical Center to be hesitant about its plans to build a new $30 million hospital. RMC has a terrific future and lots of opportunities, he said. "(The current economy) does not change the need," Tavary said. "What is happening across the country will resolve."
Hospital officials announced earlier this year plans to build a hospital on 10 acres in the city's expanded industrial park near the corner of State Highway 44 and Douglas Street. Fundraising has begun. Construction will start in 2009 and the new hospital will open in 2011.
Tavary, 57, started his new job about a week ago, nine months after former CEO Tommy Hobbs left after working at the Ripon hospital for five years. Jean Surguy, vice president of patient services, filled in as interim CEO after Hobbs left. She was in charge when the hospital purchased the land for the new hospital. Tavary comes to Ripon from Prosser, Wash., where he was CEO of Prosser Public Hospital District.
Joan Karsten, president of the hospital's board of directors, praised Tavary's background and experience in a news release from RMC. Tavary comes from a similar sized hospital and has a history of strong community involvement, the release said. RMC serves 25,000 people in Ripon and the surrounding communities, providing a broad range of surgical, rehabilitation and emergency services.
In Washington, Prosser was in charge of a similar sized health care organization. He held the position for 10 years. While he sees similarities between the two health care organization, he also has noted differences. "Ripon has a more robust level of competition," he said Tavary, a long time Green Bay Packers fan, had no previous connections to the Ripon area or Wisconsin but was intrigued with the job opportunity at RMC. "We're adventuresome and like the idea of trail blazing," he said of himself and his wife Karen, a registered nurse. Their first impression of Wisconsin was favorable. Driving from the airport in Madison, Tavary described the landscape as a picture postcard. The proximity to Green Bay for Packers games and Green Lake for recreation merely sweetened the deal. "I think my son and I will become avid fishermen," he said.
