Minnesota Hospital Trustees Earn Certification

Ten leaders recognized July 8

ST. PAUL, Minn., July 12, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Ten Minnesota hospital trustees were honored July 8 at the Minnesota Hospital Association (MHA) Summer Trustee Conference for completing a board member certification program.

The voluntary training initiative verifies trustees' efforts to be informed about health-care issues, to sharpen their leadership skills and to create best practice methods for governance. To qualify, participants must earn, for example, 35 education units in topics as varied as ethics, government regulations and patient safety and quality.

"Certification helps assure stakeholders that Minnesota's hospitals hold themselves to high standards and are accountable for their governance performance," said Lawrence Massa, MHA president and chief executive officer. "These trustees are actively demonstrating their commitment to the principles that make them exceptional assets to the patients and communities we serve."

Newly certified Minnesota hospital trustees:

Judith A. Bjerga — Lakewood Health System, Staples
Bjerga has served on the Lakewood Health System District Board for five years, and she also serves on Lakewood's Foundation board and finance committee. Bjerga is a retired educator of 36 years; she worked for the Staples/Motley district for 26 years. As a volunteer, she has also served with the Peace Officers of Cass County sheriff's department, the Mid Minnesota Federal Credit Union, Faith Lutheran (Staples) church board and numerous other professional boards and organizations.

Ed Borowiec — Cook Hospital & C&NC, Cook
Borowiec has served on the Cook Hospital board for four years, and he has been board treasurer for a year. He also serves on the MHA Trustee Council. Borowiec is a retired English and linguistics professor, and 35 years of his 40-year career in education were spent at California State University, Long Beach. He also served as an adjunct professor in the graduate school at Texas A&M University and at the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth. Borowiec said he dedicates his volunteer contributions to health care to his eldest son, who died of esophageal cancer in 2002.

Don Bottemiller — Tri-County Hospital, Wadena
Bottemiller has been a board member of Tri-County Hospital since 1982. He is the retired chief executive officer of Homecrest, a Wadena furniture manufacturer, and he currently serves on the company's board.  In addition, Bottemiller serves on the boards of Luther Theological Seminary in St. Paul and of the Meadowlark Institute, a leadership training organization based in Fargo, N.D. In the past, Bottemiller has served as a regent of Concordia College in Moorhead and as a board member of the American Furniture Manufacturers Association and as president of the Summer and Casual Furniture Manufacturers Association. 

Linda Doerr — New River Medical Center, Monticello
Doerr has served on the New River Medical Center board since 1982, and during that time she has been board chair for several terms and has held other offices as well. Currently, she is the vice chair of the board. Doerr has also served in the past on the MHA Trustee Council. She is vice president for senior services at St. Cloud Hospital, and she has a nursing home administrator license and a master's degree in business administration.

Brian Doyle — New River Medical Center, Monticello
Doyle has been a board member at New River Medical Center for more than two years. He currently serves as the secretary to the board of directors and is part of the professional and quality affairs committee, the finance committee and the board education committee. Doyle has a master's degree in structural media, along with 60 additional credits in communication, public television productions and technology. He also volunteers for the Rivers of Hope, which provides services to battered women and volunteers for church activities and community events.

Mitchell Kilian — Ridgeview Medical Center, Waconia
Kilian joined the Ridgeview Medical Center board of directors in February 2008, and he currently serves as vice chair. A Waconia resident, Kilian is director of governmental affairs for the Metropolitan Airports Commission.

James Morris — Queen of Peace Hospital, New Prague
Morris, retired vice president of then-Control Data and past president of the State Bank of New Prague, has served on the Queen of Peace Hospital board of directors since 1999. In that role, he has served on various board committees, including finance and board development. Also, Morris recently served as trustee director for the Minnesota Hospital Association board.

Richard Philabaum — Paynesville Area Health Care System
Philabaum represents the city of Roscoe as a district hospital board member. He has served on the board for 11 years. Philabaum also serves as president of the District D Health Care Auxiliary of Minnesota, and he is president of the Paynesville Hospital Auxiliary. Philabaum was employed for 36 years at the St. Cloud Veterans Administration Hospital in materials management and acquisition.

Edwin Treml — Sleepy Eye Medical Center
Treml has served as a trustee for the Sleepy Eye Medical Center for more than 40 years, most of them as secretary. As a board member, Treml was instrumental in guiding a facility building project that helped ensure that the medical center will be able to serve the Sleepy Eye community for years to come.

Mike Werner — Ridgeview Medical Center, Waconia
Werner joined the Ridgeview Medical Center board of directors in 1997, and he currently serves as board chair. He has also served on the MHA Trustee Council. A resident of Waconia, Werner has been a teacher and administrator in the Chaska and Waconia school districts.

For more information about MHA's hospital trustee certification program, visit www.mnhospitals.org/index/trusteeplace. For more information about Minnesota hospitals, visit www.mnhospitals.org.

The Minnesota Hospital Association represents Minnesota's hospitals and health systems.

SOURCE Minnesota Hospital Association