John Hill, Bozeman Health president and CEO, steps down

Dr. Kathryn Bertany named interim CEO starting Nov. 1

EBS STAFF

Bozeman Health president and CEO John Hill is stepping down from his position, the Bozeman Health system board announced Wednesday.

“The board of directors and I have mutually agreed that I will end my tenure as CEO of Bozeman Health at the end of this month,” John Hill said in a statement issued by the organization.

Earlier in October, Hill and the hospital’s board of directors received a vote of no confidence in their leadership of the hospital system from a group of staff physicians, the Bozeman Daily Chronicle reported. The vote followed a decision by Bozeman Health to lay off 28 leadership staff and eliminate 25 open leadership positions due to financial issues, the Chronicle reported.

As president and CEO, John helped lead Bozeman Health in becoming an integrated healthcare delivery system, the release stated. Among his accomplishments at the helm of Bozeman Health were improving patient access to care through an expansion of community and retail health care sites, opening the first NICU in southwest Montana, expanding our critical care capabilities, and working with independent orthopedic groups to create Montana’s only DNV accredited Spine + Joint Institute.

The board has selected Dr. Kathryn Bertany to serve as interim president and CEO starting Nov. 1, 2022.

Bertany has 30 years of experience practicing medicine as a pediatrician and nearly 20 years of experience in hospital/health system leadership roles. Bertany holds degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Most recently, she served as Bozeman Health’s president of Bozeman Health Deaconess Hospital and Bozeman Health Big Sky Medical Center.

Prior to joining Bozeman Health, Bertany was the vice president of medical affairs at St. Charles Medical Center in Bend, Oregon, coming from Valley Medical Center—part of the University of Washington Medicine system in Seattle, Washington—where she was the chief medical officer. She also served as administrator and executive medical director for St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital in Boise, Idaho.

The board stated in its release that they’re confident Bertany will work to improve trust throughout the health system and that the Bozeman Health community will support her in this interim period.

Additionally, the system board of directors met with a group of physicians on Oct. 20, following the vote of no confidence.

The board will immediately begin a national search for a permanent CEO of Bozeman Health.