November 13, 2019
St. Peter’s Health today announced the launch of a new Regional Services Operating Board as part of the local nonprofit health system’s governance structure. The Regional Services Operating Board is responsible for overseeing the strategy to increase local access to health care services and secure long-term strategic partnerships that extend high quality, sustainable health care into the region’s rural communities.
St. Peter’s has already begun taking steps to expand partnerships with other local and regional health care providers. In late 2018, the organization announced an academic affiliation with the University of Utah Health to connect patients in Helena with many of the nation’s top specialists in Salt Lake City. Just over a month ago, St. Peter’s Health and Bozeman Health announced a partnership to create a program and statewide center of excellence for neonatal care and maternal-fetal medicine in the new neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) being constructed at Deaconess Hospital. Locally in Helena, St. Peter’s now has a partnership to bring licensed mental health professionals from Intermountain onto the acute care team to support pediatric inpatients during their hospital stay.
“We believe partnering with other health care organizations locally and regionally is critical to delivering on our promise to bring a higher state of care to our community,” said Mark Taylor, Chair of the St. Peter’s Health Board of Directors. “Technology makes it possible for a patient in Helena to receive care directly from a sub-specialist in Salt Lake City or Seattle, or a patient in Townsend to connect with a specialist at St. Peter’s in Helena. An integral part of our strategy moving forward is to leverage telehealth and clinical partnerships to increase the scope of high quality, affordable health care available to our community.”
The St. Peter’s Health Regional Services Operating Board is comprised of five members, including community members and delegates from the St. Peter’s Health Administration and Board of Directors. Community members appointed to the Regional Services Operating Board include:
John Nordwick
The former President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Bozeman Deaconess Health Services, Nordwick has 37 years of health care leadership experience. In his career, he served as CEO in Poplar and Glendive, Montana, and held senior leadership roles in Sidney, Montana and at River Region Health Services in Red Wing, Minnesota. He also served as a Board Member and President of the Montana Hospital Association (MHA). Throughout his career, Nordwick helped establish several cooperative associations focused on the sharing of information and mutually beneficial ventures between hospitals. He earned his business degree from Eastern Montana College in Billings and Master’s in Healthcare Administration from the University of Minnesota. He resides in Helena with his wife, Gwyn, a retired Registered Nurse (RN).
Aidan Myhre
With nearly 25 years of experience in strategic communications and government affairs, Myhre advises organizations on matters related to public policy, advocacy, public relations and issues management. She has represented clients in the health care industry for over a decade and served on the St. Peter's Hospital Foundation Board for six years, including as chair. She previously chaired the Helena School Board and served on the Board of Trustees from 2008 to 2017. Myhre earned her Bachelor’s in Business Administration from the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul, Minnesota and her MBA from the University of Montana. She resides in Helena with her family.