New Caribou Medical Center CEO is ready to take hospital to next level
For Kent Loosle, the CEO of Caribou Medical Center in Eastern Idaho, it turns out that not only can you go home again, you can return to your roots and make a big difference.
Kent and his wife, Wendi, are both small-town East Idaho natives who spent the past 13 years hopscotching through the West with their six children as Kent assumed ever-larger positions in health care as both a hospital chief operating officer and chief executive officer.
Most recently based in Utah, the family jumped at the chance to return to their home area in Soda Springs, Idaho, to take on the challenges of growing a rural health care system.
Loosle has wasted no time taking the reins at the hospital and is focused on bringing expanded services, improved communication and a greater presence in the community than ever before.
Already, seven new providers have signed agreements to come work at Caribou Medical Center, including a urologist, a pain management specialist, two orthopedic and sports medicine providers and a family medicine obstetrician, expanding services that have not always been available locally.
Future plans include brick and mortar additions to the existing hospital as well as an increased online presence, including an updated website and use of social media to highlight the greatly expanded services the hospital offers.
“People that go to bigger facilities, they don’t get that same personalized care that you would get in a place like this,” says Loosle. “Stay tuned — the future is really bright at Caribou Medical Center."