This week's headlines
Cleckler has been employed by DCMH for nearly five years. He initially joined the hospital as a trauma nurse coordinator and about a year later was named emergency department director and trauma program manager. He most recently served as chief clinical officer for the past two years.
Many hospitals have a director of nurses, Cleckler explained, but at DCMH the chief clinical officer has served as director of nurses while also overseeing other non-nursing services such as dietary. Cleckler will continue as CCO but will delegate some of those responsibilities to other qualified staff members.
Cleckler earned a bachelor of science degree from California State University at Humboldt with a focus on rural healthcare. He moved to Colorado in 1995 and worked in several facilities in Colorado Springs in inpatient psychiatry. He also taught at the University of Colorado - Colorado Springs for a brief period of time before transitioning into emergency medicine.
He decided he would like to live in a part of the state that wasn't as crowded as the Front Range so he joined the ICU department at Montrose Memorial Hospital. He missed the ER, though, so he was quick to apply for an opening at Delta County Memorial Hospital. Now he can't picture himself living anywhere else — he loves the small-town atmosphere, the great weather and the outstanding opportunities for outdoor recreation.
While he misses interacting with the patients and their families, Cleckler feels he can still make a difference as hospital administrator.
"Our number one goal is to provide quality care and services to our community, and to provide a great place for employees to work so they can provide those services. I think DCMH has a very good foundation in doing that for our community."
During the interim period, his challenge will be to successfully implement the hospital's electronic medical records and to achieve a passing score on the hospital's pending Joint Commission review.
blog comments powered by Disqus