June 11, 2010 —Ida Chavez, Chairman of the Board of Directors for Cibola General Hospital, announces that Kenneth (Ken) Cochran has accepted a position as CEO for an Ohio hospital effective November 1, 2010.

Mr. Cochran has been CEO at Cibola General Hospital (CGH) since March 2008. During his tenure he has enhanced net revenues by 62%, improved productivity by 25%, doubled the employee satisfaction scores and implemented a service culture which resulted in a 30% improvement in patient satisfaction. Cochran was instrumental in recruiting four physicians to Cibola County. His focus while at CGH was on improving quality measures and the development of action plans which led to the renewal of the Joint Commissions Accreditation.

About his tenure at Cibola General Hospital Cochran stated, “I will forever be grateful for the opportunity to be part of what we have achieved at Cibola General Hospital. I will miss the personal and professional relationships that I have developed while here. The employees and medical staff are caring individuals who are dedicated to serving the patients and community.”

In addition to serving the hospital, Cochran is currently the Board Vice President of the Grants/Milan Chamber of Commerce. Cochran is also currently serving as President of the New Mexico Healthcare Manager’s Forum, an elected member of the American Hospital Association (AHA) Small and Rural Hospital Governing Council and member of the Nominations and Finance Committee with the New Mexico Hospital Association. He is active in the community by serving as a soccer and youth football coach as well as serving as a volunteer in his church.

Chavez stated, “Under his (Cochran’s) leadership the hospital has aggressively followed and implemented initiatives required of him to drive change throughout the organization. He has been passionate about accomplishing our Mission to provide excellent healthcare. His vision for the hospital has always been "to earn your trust and to be the first choice for your healthcare". Cochran will be greatly missed and his shoes hard to fill.”

Chavez said that the Board of Directors will immediately begin the search for a new CEO.

Contact Ida Chavez at 505-287-5300.

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