John B. Hamilton

For Central Washington Hospital to maintain and expand its ability to provide excellent health care, it takes great physicians and support personnel, good facilities and good long range planning for both facilities and economics.

As Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President for CWH, that has been John Hamilton's responsibility since 1997. We are learning about the cardiac surgery program, implemented last August, and occasionally hear the Hospital-based helicopter service John developed, but his other less-known recent accomplishments include:

• Installing a $750,000 laboratory information system.
• Completing a 15-year master Site and Facilities plan.
• Remodeling plans for Obstetrics and Critical Care areas.
• Recruiting physicians to the hospital medical group.

For the three years before coming to Wenatchee, John was Vice-president for operations at the Fresno Community Hospital and Medical Center, guiding health care finances, physicians recruitment and facilities planning and implementation.

To be able to skillfully guide such complex and specialized medical-related activities takes preparation and experience. John's scholastic preparation included:

• a BA in Economics from Duke University in 1969
• an MA in International Relations at the University of Arkansas in 1973
• an MS in Health Care Administration at Trinity University in San Antonio

John met his Finnish bride-to-be, Kaisu, in Nurnberg, Germany while serving there as a Captain and Company Commander in the US Army Medical Service Corps. The other 2 of his 4 Army years were at the US Army Hospital at Landhstuhl, Germany.

After leaving the Army in 1973, John began a one-year residency in Hospital Administration in Burlingame, California, followed by medical field service as:

• Administrative Assistant at an Oakland hospital
• Health Planner at a San Francisco health systems agency
• Administrative Director of Sequoia Hospital in Redwood, CA.
• Assistant Administrator at Antelope Valley Hospital Medical Center, Lancaster, CA

Since coming to Wenatchee, John has found time for community service, including service as this year's President of the Wenatchee Valley Chamber of Commerce, Board Member of the Workforce Council for North Central Washington and recent Board Member for Quest
John and Kaisu were married in Germany in 1971 and have two snow-boarding students in Wenatchee High School; Laura, a 17 year-old senior and Tommy, a 15-year-old freshman. Other seasons find Tommy skate-boarding or trail-riding his dirt bike.

John has been a member of Wenatchee Rotary since arriving in Wenatchee in 1997 and is the current chair of the Human Development Committee and second-time Finance and Cashiering Committee chair for the big club auctions.

John says that he appreciates the welcome he has received in Wenatchee and in Rotary, the ease of making friendships that he has experienced and the opportunities that he has been given to be of service to the community.

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