Memorial Hospital of Converse County’s Board is pleased to announce the hiring of our new Chief Executive Officer, Matt Dammeyer of Soldotna, Alaska.
After a lengthy interview process and a tour of the Douglas community in mid-July, Matt was offered the position and accepted. Both he and his wife, Maria, are Ph.D. graduates in the field of Psychology from the University of Wyoming, where they met as students. They will soon relocate to Douglas, where they look forward to making their home along with their six children.
“The appointment of Matt is the result of an extensive interview process which convinced both the Board and hospital staff that this was the individual to help maintain our excellence in delivering patient-centered care and as an outstanding community hospital,” said Memorial Hospital of Converse County Board Chair Bob Kayser in a statement. “Matt was a colleague of Ryan Smith’s for several years and he brings to us significant hospital management experience. He will begin work on September 30th and is already working with our senior management team to accomplish a smooth transition in our leadership.”
Matt was most recently the CEO of the Alaska Psychiatric Institute (API) in Anchorage and, concurrent with this position, owned a consulting firm focused on assisting clinical practices, with education for acute psychiatric care. Dammeyer spent a large amount of his professional career at the Central Peninsula Hospital in Soldotna, Alaska. Leaving private practice in 2001, he took on roles with ever-increasing degrees of leadership input and responsibility including Clinical Director/Staff Psychologist, Director of Behavioral Health, Assistant Administrator, and finally Chief Operating Officer, a position he held for seven years.
“When I graduated from the University of Colorado (Boulder), I originally planned on attending a doctoral program on the east coast. However, I took a trip to Laramie and was extremely impressed with the people and culture,” Matt shared, reflecting on his initial experiences with the Cowboy State. “Twenty-five years later, I visited Ryan Smith at Memorial Hospital of Converse County as I was driving from Colorado to Alaska. The experience was stunningly similar. It brought back a flood of positive memories from my time in Wyoming. I immediately began exploring CEO opportunities in Wyoming, and feel very fortunate to move my family to Douglas.”
Noting that our mission, To Be The Best Hospital In Wyoming, and the organization’s value of Joy stood out particularly for him, Dammeyer shared what further drew him to the role of CEO with Memorial Hospital was our commitment to patient-centeredness.
“Much of my career, both as a clinician and administrator, has focused on developing systems and cultures that put the patient at the center of the healthcare experience; with increasing specialization in medicine, maintaining a focus on the human being is not always easy, but necessary,” said Dammeyer. “I want to be part of a healthcare system where patient-centered care is always emphasized. I believe that Memorial Hospital of Converse County is that system. This healthcare organization truly understands the importance of putting the patient first.”
“Memorial Hospital of Converse County is a sophisticated healthcare system, particularly for a rural setting. I am honored to join with the Board of Directors, Leadership, Providers, and Staff to further develop it into something even more spectacular,” Dammeyer concluded.
We look forward to all of you helping us welcome Matt and his family to our Memorial Hospital of Converse County community.