In the last week we lost two great Washington State health care leaders. On April 19, Gary Peck, WSHA Joe Hopkins Memorial Award winner and former CEO of St. Joseph Hospital in Chewelah, died in a car accident. Also, on April 23, Lake Chelan Community Hospital & Clinics Commissioner Tom Warren died.
We were heartbroken to hear about each of these deaths. Both men have long been staples of the Washington State health care community and were active in working with WSHA to make our communities healthier.
In addition to serving as leader of St. Joseph Hospital for 20 years, Gary worked in administration at Deaconess Hospital in Spokane for 20 years and served as interim CEO for other rural hospitals in Eastern Washington. He was awarded WSHA’s prestigious Joe Hopkins Memorial Award in 2007 for his extensive work for our rural communities.
As a commissioner, Tom was a tireless advocate for community health and a champion of efforts to build a new hospital in Chelan. Those efforts paid off in April 2017, when voters approved a bond to fund construction of the new hospital. Tom was also a member of the WSHA Rural Hospital Committee, and in 2016 he chaired the WSHA Effective Governance Task Force, which underscored the importance of good governance and identified core competencies for hospital board governance.
We will miss each of these men dearly, and we will remember them for their achievements advocating for the health and wellness of Washington’s communities.
Sincerely,
Cassie Sauer
WSHA President & CEO
cassies@wsha.org
