By Kristine Thomas
To have an understanding of William Winter’s dedication to the Silverton Hospital Network for 20 years, start at the beginning.
Under Winter’s leadership, the once struggling community hospital has grown into a successful independent network with nine clinics in Silverton, Mount Angel and Woodburn, including Wellspring, one of the first wellness centers in the Mid-Willamette Valley that is anchored by an up-to-date, high-tech community hospital.
In July, Winter will retire as the president of Silverton Hospital Network. He will continue to serve as president emeritus and consultant. He has worked in the healthcare field for 45 years, the longest tenure for a healthcare administrator in Oregon.
During Winter’s tenure, Silverton Hospital received its first Joint Commission accreditation and numerous national awards, including the Press Ganey Summit Award for patient satisfaction (reaching and maintaining the top 95 percentile of customer satisfaction for three or more consecutive years), JD Power and Associates for service excellence, Top 100 Hospitals in the nation, and Consumer Reports’ top ranking in Oregon for patient satisfaction.
For Winter, his work has been simply about caring for people – from the ones who work with him to those who seek care.
Winter said he has been blessed to work with a board of directors, physicians and staff that share of vision of keeping healthcare close to home.
“This has meant providing services, specialists and wellness programs that are rare in communities our size,” Winter said. “Being part of Silverton Hospital and the Network, and having the opportunity to lead such a wonderful group of individuals for over 20 years has been one of the greatest joys of my life.
“I have worked every day of my life since I was 16 years old,” Winter, 70, said. “I don’t really have an understanding of what a Monday morning will be like without an agenda or a calendar, without something to do. Retirement will be something different for me.”
Rick Cagen has been named as Winter’s successor by the Network’s board of directors.
Cagen, who has been serving as administrator and vice president, will continue as hospital administrator and add the title of president of Silverton Hospital Network.
He has more than 30 years of experience as a top-level health care executive and as a community leader. Cagen is well known throughout Oregon, as well as nationally, for his in-depth knowledge of current health care issues and for his commitment to serving the community. Prior to joining Silverton Hospital Network, Cagen served as CEO and administrator of Shriners Hospital for Children in Portland and in leadership positions for six years at Providence Health & Services.
Cagen said he has admired Winter’s work in the field healthcare for many years.
The reason the Silverton Hospital Network has received accolades and made significant advancements is because of Winter’s leadership and vision for quality healthcare, Cagen said.
“Bill is a classy guy. He takes care of his doctors who in turn take care of their patients,” Cagen said. “He treats people like he would like to be treated – with respect. The reason Silverton Hospital is well known for its quality of care is because it starts at the top. Our staff sees how Bill cares for his colleagues and they treat their patients the same way.”
When Winter started at Silverton Hospital in 1990, there were 14 providers. Now, there are more than 130 providers. He’s overseen the expansion of the hospital’s facilities to include the recent opening of a clinic in Mount Angel along with clinics in Molalla and Woodburn, including Wellspring.
Wellspring exemplifies Winter’s vision of what healthcare should be – proactive rather than reactive.
“When Bill started Wellspring, people thought he was nuts,” Cagen said, “because the concept was so out there. But that’s the type of innovation Bill brought to healthcare. Rather than being reactive, Wellspring is a unique venue the finds ways to be proactive and keep people healthy.”
Regarding Wellspring, Winter acknowledges it’s going to take a generation talking about wellness before the trend becomes prevalent in society.
“I knew when we opened Wellspring that we would be ahead of the curve in providing healthcare,” he said.
“We know it will take awhile for the idea of wellness to become the norm but we are well positioned and prepared. We know that opening Wellspring was the right thing to do.”
He added talking about wellness is a critical part in taking care of “ourselves and our health. We want people to manage their health so illness doesn’t become the issue.”
Winter’s vision is to keep people well by teaching them to manage their weight so it doesn’t lead to diabetes or manage their blood pressure so it doesn’t lead to a heart attack.
He knows it is more cost effective to keep people healthy than to treat them after they have become ill.
Both Cagen and Winter recognize most people are scared to have to go a hospital.
“Nobody wants to come to the hospital unless they are having a baby,” he said.
A top-notch staff providing compassionate and quality care is what has made Silverton Hospital a place people want to go to be treated, they agreed.
“Because of Bill’s leadership, our patients give Silverton Hospital a 95 percent patient satisfaction rate,”
Cagen said. “Because we take care of our employees, they take care of our patients.”
From the Emergency Room to the Family Birth Center, Winter said the quality of service provide throughout the Silverton Hospital Network can be attributed to a phenomenal staff.
“I have had the great opportunity to work with outstanding people who have a great sense of pride and provide compassionate care,” he said. “I helped pull together a team of people who are visionary and hard working.”
And that, simply, is the secret to Winter’s success.
What he takes the most pride in can’t be found in mortar or brick.
Instead, he looks at the more than 800 employees who work for the Silverton Hospital Network.
