New CEO Named for Community Hospital
TORRINGTON, Wyo. (Feb. 8, 2009) -- Jim Ferando, Banner Health Western Region president, has named Brenda L. Sturm, FACHE, as chief executive officer for Community Hospital in Torrington, Wyo., effective immediately. Sturm replaces Dick Smith, who has served as interim CEO for the hospital since shortly after the sudden death of CEO Mike Walsh.
Sturm had served as Community Hospital’s chief nursing officer since November.
“Since joining Banner Health and Community Hospital as CNO, Brenda has demonstrated the exceptional leadership skills and operational expertise that is so critical in a CEO role,” Ferando said. “Brenda’s knowledge, enthusiasm and commitment to staff, physicians and the community will allow Community Hospital to move ahead and grow in the future.”
“I am so honored to have been chosen to be the CEO for Torrington,” Sturm said. “In our service to others, we can provide the best care possible to our patients and residents. We are privileged to have a committed staff and physicians in Torrington. They are the key to making the difference in health care.”
Prior to joining the leadership team at Community Hospital, Sturm served as clinic administrator/division director for the Ethel Lund Medical Center (ELMC) in Juneau. ELMC is part of the SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) which serves the native population of southeast Alaska. She had worked for SEARHC since 1990 and held the position of clinic administrator/division director since 2001.
Sturm started her healthcare career as a certified nursing assistant and then began a progressive path from associate degree (RN), to bachelor’s degree in science/nursing and finally a master of science in nursing/healthcare administration.
Her passion has been improvement in patient care services and leadership development.
She has been successful in a number of initiatives that have encouraged native career development, leadership development and improvement in patient services and models of care. She also directed construction of a new clinic and began a homeless healthcare program in Juneau. Her influence to healthcare programs in Alaska was successfully integrated at the community level as well as on a broader level of care coordination at state and national levels.
