Sean McCallister

Powell Valley Healthcare has an interim CEO running the show who’s not content keeping everything the same. 

Sean McCallister was named to the top job at PVHC in early June. He’s taken over the helm in Powell after the sudden departure of former CEO Joy Coulston, who led the hospital for two years until May, when she submitted her resignation to the board. No reasoning was given for her sudden resignation.

McCallister, who said he was in “semi-retirement” before coming to Powell, was most recently the administrator for a pair of ambulatory surgery centers in Idaho. He was living as a “ski bum” after taking the winter off in his family's “forever home” of McCall, Idaho. Prior to working in Idaho, he was the CEO of Johnson County Healthcare in Buffalo from 2019-2021. 

Billings Clinic reached out to McCallister to take the interim role for four months to help the hospital as it looks for its next CEO.

McCallister likes the Powell community and said if it were a few years earlier he might consider putting himself up as a candidate for the permanent CEO, but he’s made a commitment to his family that they’re done moving. That said, McCallister said he’s not here through September simply to keep the hospital on course until a new CEO arrives. 

“It would be easy to come in and just say, well, this is sort of easy money, or I can just kind of sit back and just keep things going. But that didn't make sense to me,” McCallister said. “I was like, let's dig deep, make a difference … this is the opportunity to work with the team here to make some changes that could be really meaningful.” 

McCallister grew up in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, and earned a bachelor’s in communication and public relations from Weber State University in Utah and a master's in health care administration from Washington State University.

He spent more than a decade working in health care facilities in Alaska before moving back to the lower 48. 

“[Alaska] was the first time I stepped foot into a small hospital, and it was love at first sight,” McCallister said, adding, “With small towns and communities I love the quality of life and slower pace and the intimate community setting. So it was very clear early on that that's the direction I wanted to go with my career.”

He said he’s always loved that health care is about people. 

“I try to spend as much time outside my office as I can. I don't like to be in back to back meetings all day,” he said. “And so my goal, one of the top priorities in coming here was really to get out and to meet all the team members, and to get to know everyone. And, like, not just day shift, but I come around during, evenings and nights, early morning and weekends … it just helps me learn about the culture here.”

He said when he goes on his rounds with employees in departments not often in the spotlight such as environmental services, people are shocked to see the CEO. 

He’s also been pleasantly surprised by the quality of the PVHC staff. 

“It's really a privilege to be here,” he said, adding, “The hospital, the team, the medical staff, the two boards have really exceeded my expectations. It's just such quality, people that are so incredibly committed. I mean, I'm really impressed. This is a very special situation … And even with some volatility over the years here that I'm aware of, I just feel like this is a really resilient team.”

And from all appearances the team seems to appreciate his stepping in, as multiple people commented on his work thus far in stabilizing the situation after the CFO and then CEO left in a relatively small timeframe in the spring. 

“Actions speak louder than words and our staff recognizes that he’s out there rounding,” Chief Operating Officer Nicole Ostermiller said. “It makes a huge difference. I’ve even heard that in the community.”

McCallister is enjoying the dive into hospital administration again and the chance to make a difference, even if it’s just in four months. 

He’s looking into the community’s health in general, such as how easy is it for people to be healthy and thus less in need of health care services in the first place. And he’s made a point to hone in one of the operations of the hospital and look at costs the hospital can control.

He said one of his main goals is to reduce waste, especially in small hospitals with limited resources, so he wants to optimize the resources available.

“And to really increase the focus on people too. I think from an administration standpoint, it's easy to get caught up in a singular focus like finance and production, and obviously we have to make money to sustain the organization and serve the community," he said. "But it can't just be about money. People are our most important asset by far. And when they come to work and they feel appreciated and they're happy and they feel like they get a solid comp and benefit package, it makes all the difference. They come to work motivated. They're ready to serve. They put their best foot forward.”

New board member, old face

Syd Thompson is back on the hospital board after a roughly half year absence. 

Thompson, owner of Thompson Funeral Home, was chosen by a committee of board members over two other applicants to fill the last year-and-a-half of Joni Bennett’s term. Bennett resigned just before the April meeting. 

Thompson declined to run again for his seat after finishing a term in 2024. 

Fellow board member Scott Mackenzie said all three of the applicants were “wonderful and well qualified.”