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Baraga County Memorial Hospital continues to grow in good health. Last night BCMH CEO Rob Stowe stopped by the Baraga County Commission to deliver the hospital’s annual report. Baraga County Memorial Health has steadily grown its strength in the local community over the past year. Stowe recognized that BCMH has built a strong culture within its staff having taken efforts to reduce staff turnover far below the national average of 50 percent.
“I feel like a big strength we have going for us right now is we’ve made drastic improvements in culture over the last couple of years. We’ve reduced our turnover rate, all staff, from 12% a year down to 6% a year. That’s an incredible achievement and it saves us a lot of money in terms of onboarding people, recruiting people, those kinds of things. So that’s something that we’re proud of.” – Rob Stowe, CEO, Baraga County Memorial Hospital
Baraga County does face some challenges its leadership is working toward developing solutions or different opportunities in the region. BCMH recognizes that it needs to begin opening itself back up to the community through growing community partnerships with medical groups, education and outreach, and continuing to build its relationship with the Keweenaw Bay Indian community.
“Another opportunity for us is public perception. I hear it at the gas station. I hear it when I go to other events. Is the hospital losing money? Is the hospital going broke? No. We’re doing incredibly well. When I benchmark us against the other hospitals on the Upper Peninsula, we’re a top performer. We’ve got $11 million in the bank. We are nowhere near going broke. We’re thriving. But for some reason, there’s a public perception. that the hospital isn’t financially stable. I’m here to tell you we’re beyond stable, we’re thriving. So I’m excited about that, but it’s a big opportunity, and that’s part of me coming here today to tell our story.” – Rob Stowe, CEO, Baraga County Memorial Hospital
In the past year, Baraga County Memorial Hospital has added several new team members to its group of qualified medical practitioners. Including the addition of a cardiologist to its staff. BCMH leadership is proud of the hospital’s growth in the past year and plans to offer more community engagement opportunities as 2024 progresses.
