Bob Sutton, Avera President and CEO, announces that Doug Ekeren has been named the regional president and CEO of Avera Queen of Peace Hospital (AQOP) after serving in the role on an interim basis.
Ekeren, who will also continue his work as regional president and CEO of Avera Sacred Heart Hospital (ASHH), has held the interim title for AQOP since July 2020.
“I have been impressed with Doug’s commitment to making this restructuring successful and how well he has done in balancing the needs of both AQOP and ASHH,” said Sutton. “He has been masterful in leveraging the tremendous talent and resources in the two regions during the last year so our organization can meet both immediate and long-term strategic goals.”
The boards of directors for both regions provided feedback and their approval of the new permanent structure.
“I have enjoyed getting to know the employees, medical staff and community partners in the Mitchell region during the last year and look forward to building on those relationships to ensure that Avera Queen of Peace continues to meet industry challenges and to serve those in the region,” Ekeren said. “We have great teams in both the Mitchell and Yankton regions who are committed to the mission of the Benedictine and Presentation sisters to make a positive impact in the lives and health of persons and communities by providing quality services guided by Christian values. It is their support that has allowed me to take on this larger leadership role.”
Ekeren has served as the regional president and CEO of ASHH since 2014. Additionally, he is the administrative lead of Avera’s Long-Term Care Strategic Business Unit, Emergency Medicine Steering Committee and General Surgery Steering Committee.
He currently serves on the Make-A-Wish of South Dakota Board and the South Dakota Board of Technical Education.
Avera has previously implemented a similar shared regional president/CEO role between the Avera St. Luke’s Hospital in Aberdeen and Avera St. Mary’s Hospital in Pierre.
The AQOP and ASHH regions already successfully share several leadership positions, so further integration is a natural progression of these efforts. Overall, these measures reduce administrative costs while increasing span of control – things Avera Health believes are necessary to sustain the health care ministry began by the Benedictine and Presentation sisters.