Citizens Memorial Hospital | Vitality | Fall 2019

citizensmemorial.com 3 COMMUNITY TAGLINE HERE CMH NEWS Citizens Memorial Hospital complies with applicable federal civil rights laws and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability or sex. CMH has arranged for language assistance services free of charge. Call 417-326-6000 . (Spanish) ATENCIÓN: si habla español, tiene a su disposición servicios gratuitos de asistencia lingüística. Llame al 417-326-6000 . (Chinese ) 注意：如果您使用繁體中文，您可以免費獲得 語言援助服務。請致電 417-326-6000 . Passing the torch Gary Fulbright, CFO Donald J. Babb, CEO/Executive Director Renee Meyer, Director of Finance CHANGING OF THE GUARD The Hospital and Foundation Boards of Directors have appointed Gary Fulbright, CMH Chief Financial Officer (CFO), as Babb’s successor. Fulbright was the third employee hired when CMH opened its doors nearly 38 years ago. He is a certified public accountant and has experience as an internal auditor. Fulbright is a native of Bolivar and earned a Bachelor of Science in accounting from Southwest Baptist University. Renee Meyer has been named as the next CFO. Meyer has worked at CMH for nearly 27 years, first as an accountant and then as Director of Finance for the CMH Foundation. She was previously a certified public accountant in Jefferson City and Springfield. Meyer earned a Bachelor of Science in accounting from the University of Missouri, Columbia. “Mr. Babb arrived in Bolivar with a vision of what health care should look like in rural America—a place where health care is available to its citizens without extensive travel,” says Dave Strader, CMH Foundation Board President. “We have seen Don Babb’s vision come to life at Citizens Memorial. Along with a great professional staff under his leadership, the hospital and foundation have flourished. Mr. Babb’s vision will live far beyond his years here and is a legacy for the future.” SERVINGWITHDISTINCTION Babb is a previous chairman for the Missouri Hospital Association (MHA) and serves on many state and Donald J. Babb— Chief Executive Officer of Citizens Memorial Hospital (CMH) District and Riverside Management and Rehabilitation; Executive Director of Citizens Memorial Health Care Foundation (CMH Foundation) and CMH Properties—will retire in January 2020. Babb announced his retirement in a personal letter to medical staff, employees and volunteers on May 23. He remarked that deciding to retire has been a difficult decision: “I love what I do and have loved growing CMH into the remarkable health care organization that it is today. It’s been an honor and privilege to serve our community and to work alongside so many talented and caring health care providers, employees and volunteers.” Babb’s retirement will cap more than 50 years in health care. Nationally, the average tenure for a hospital CEO is around five years. Babb is one of the longest-tenured hospital leaders in Missouri—he has led CMH as its one and only CEO since 1981. “It is impossible to put into words how much Mr. Babb has meant to CMH and the communities we serve,” says Patrick Douglas, CMH Board Chairman. “His vision and leadership have been the driving force behind our amazing growth, compassionate care, physician recruitment and tireless pursuit of improving excellence in quality. His appreciation for the contributions made by every single team member is an inspiration to many, including me.” national health care organizations’ boards and committees. He has received numerous awards and recognitions in the past 38 years—the Missourian Award, the Shirley Ann Munroe Leadership Development Award by the American Hospital Association, MHA’s Distinguished Service Award, MHA’s Visionary Leadership Award and the Governor’s Quality Leadership Award, to name a few. The pre-licensure Bachelor of Science in nursing program at Southwest Baptist University’s Bolivar campus named their department the Don and Carrie Babb Department of Nursing in honor of Babb’s leadership at CMH and in the Bolivar community. Babb received his Master of Health Care Financial Management from Ohio State University and holds an honorary doctorate in business administration from Southwest Baptist University, Bolivar.