Polla Is Top CEO Candidate

DAYTON - The Columbia County Health System Board of Commissioners moved to begin contract negotiations with CEO candidate Dale Polla of Missoula, Mont., af- ter a months-long search and a week of events planned to introduce Polla to the community.

The board broke for execu- tive session during a meeting on Thursday, Aug. 23, to discuss Polla's candidacy and options for moving forward, Board President Ted Paterson said. The session began at 7:10 p.m. and the meeting reopened to the public at 8:05 p.m.

"We discussed options and the pros and cons of the candidate," Paterson said.

Ultimately, the board de- cided to move forward with contract negotiations after the executive session.

As of press time, the Times staff was unable to reach Polla for comment or further details on his employment history. The health system denied requests from the Times for more background information on Polla and his health system career.

Time is truly of the essence because Interim CEO Jon Smiley completes his term at the health system in Septem- ber.

Commissioner Lisa Naylor previously said if after the visit Polla didn't seem like an appropriate fit for the CEO position, the board would have to enlist the help of a search agency.

"We want to fill the posi- tion before Smiley leaves in September," Naylor said previously. "We're running up against the wire."

If the health system was to not select Polla and extend the CEO hunt with a hired search firm, it would cost the district about one-third of the new CEO's first-year salary, according to Elaina Genser, the vice president of execu- tive search firm Witt Keifer. Genser said this payment is industry standard.

Polla and his wife Kathy visited Dayton and the sur- rounding area last week as the health system board received input from community members about the candidate.

The search for a new CEO started after Charlie Button's resignation in May. Button left the district to take on a new job at Star Valley Medical Center in Afton, Wyo.

The search for a health system CEO started with more than 30 candidates who were pared down to seven, then three. Of the final three candidates, two were unable to continue with the process for financial and personal reasons. The final candidate, Polla, was selected by a committee made up of health system staff, com- missioners and the public, who worked with the candidates in two groups to help narrow the search.

Board member Jim Kimes commended the committee that worked with Polla for their ultimate selection.

"The committee did an ex- cellent job," Kimes said.

Paterson said Polla is com- ing from a background with much larger hospitals, one of which at one point had an operating budget of about double the Columbia County Health System.

Polla was most recently employed with the Missoula Health and Rehabilitation Center in Missoula, Mont., where he was an administrator from June 15, 2011 to May 18, 2012.

Polla was previously the CEO of Okanogan Douglas Hospital until he resigned from the position in March of 2011, according to an article published by the Quad City Herald in 2011.

Polla took the position in Brewster to be closer to family after he resigned from Norther Rockies Medical Center in Cut Bank, according to a news story in the Great Falls Tribune.

In Cut Bank, Polla was the CEO for five years and ultimately resigned in January of 2004.

During a dessert social on Tuesday, Aug. 21, Kathy said she and Polla enjoyed their visit to the area.

"We were awestruck," Kathy said. "I couldn't believe how inviting Main Street (in Dayton) was."

Kathy also said she enjoyed her time in Waitsburg, adding that she was surprised how many great restaurants were in the Dayton and Waitsburg area.