The Powell hospital is looking for a new chief financial officer and a new hospital district board member. 

At the monthly meeting, April 26, Powell Valley Healthcare CEO Joy Coulston announced that CFO Coby LaBlue is leaving to take the same job at Cody Regional Health, where she had previously worked as the controller. 

In Cody, she’ll be taking the place of former CFO Hannah McRae, who was recently named CEO. 

“It’s genuinely been my pleasure to work for this organization,” LaBlue said Monday. 

Coulston, whose CFO position LaBlue took when Coulston moved up to the CEO spot in 2023, thanked LaBlue for doing not just her normal duties, but so much more. 

In the last year she’s managed a recovery in the hospital’s financials after days cash on hand had dipped down to levels that alarmed trustees. During her report on the financials, she said the average days cash on hand for the last month was 40, nearly 25 days better than last July, when the hospital was still in the wake of the spring 2024 Change Healthcare hack, which affected hospitals nationwide and led to major issues in billing. 

“She did all that in addition to what the position normally does, and for that I thank you,” Coulston said. 

La Blue will start in Cody on May 19. 

Board member resigns

Trustee Joni Bennett submitted her resignation to the board before Monday’s meeting, a little over two years after being voted onto the board in the fall of 2022. 

The board will appoint someone to fill out the remainder of Bennett’s term, which expires in 2026. 

Bennett told the Tribune she appreciated the community support in voting for her and was honored to serve the community. She also expressed her frustrations with other members of the board and hospital leadership, who she had occasional disagreements with throughout her tenure.

“It broke my heart being on a board that doesn’t respect others' opinions or suggestions on how to make PVHC better for the employees and also the community,” she said. “Both employees and the community needed support to not only accentuate the good things but to also fix the things that are broken so we can have a better future for our local hospital.

“PVHC is very important to the health of everyone in Powell and surrounding areas. However, if we aren’t willing to put egos aside, take politics out and look at everything with respect to others viewpoints we might not be able to keep this valuable asset in the future.”

The board was set to consider an action item on “Consideration of board member status pursuant to W.S. 22-29-201,” which includes a clause stating that a board position will be vacated if the member fails to attend three consecutive regular meetings without at least one of the absences being approved. 

Bennett was absent for the January-March meetings.

PVHC Chair R.J. Kost said that discussion was no longer needed after receiving Bennett’s resignation.