Bob Sutton, Avera Health President and CEO, announces that Doug Ekeren has been selected as the Interim Regional President and CEO of Avera Queen of Peace Hospital (AQOP).
He will succeed Tom Clark, who was recently named the Chief Strategy and Growth Officer for Avera Health. Clark will assume that role July 12, at which time Ekeren will begin his interim role at AQOP.
Ekeren is also the Regional President and CEO of Avera Sacred Heart Hospital (ASHH) and will continue to serve in that role alongside the new administrative duties at AQOP. It is anticipated that this will remain an interim position for 18 months in order to fully evaluate the effectiveness of the arrangement.
“Doug brings a wealth of experience, having served as the Regional President and CEO of Avera Sacred Heart Hospital since 2014 and spending more than two decades overall on that administrative team,” Sutton said. “He is a well-respected leader across our organization, and I know he will build on the success of Tom Clark in the AQOP region.”
In addition to Avera Queen of Peace Hospital, the AQOP region includes Avera St. Benedict Hospital in Parkston, Avera Weskota Memorial Hospital in Wessington Springs and Avera De Smet Memorial Hospital in De Smet.
During his time in Yankton, Ekeren has led efforts to build relationships with area critical access hospitals, including the purchase of two facilities and management of two others, carrying forth Avera’s mission of making sure access to quality health care is available throughout the region. He has also overseen numerous building projects that have grown Avera’s presence into several outreach locations.
Additionally, Doug is the administrative lead of Avera’s Long-Term Care Strategic Business Unit, Emergency Medicine Steering Committee and General Surgery Steering Committee.