Polla Is Ready For CEO Spot

DAYTON - Contract negotiations will likely come to a close at the end of the month for the new CEO of the Columbia County Health System.

CEO candidate Dale Polla, of Missoula, Mont., said he has been in the Dayton area looking for a house to buy after sending a counter offer back to the hospital board negotiation committee last week.

The board will likely ac- cept the offer and proceed with the hiring process at the next board meeting on Thursday, Sept. 27, Hospital Board Chairman Ted Pater- son said.

The CEO position has been vacant since former CEO Charlie Button's res- ignation in May. Button left the district to take on a new job at Star Valley Medical Center in Afton, Wyo.

Jon Smiley has been the acting interim CEO since Button's resignation. Smiley will depart from Dayton on Oct. 3 after working with Polla to get him acquainted with the district. Polla said he has known Smiley for years and said Smiley has served the health system well.

The contract committee, which consists of district board members Lisa Naylor and Jim Kimes, did not accept the initial contract offer Polla presented at the last negotiation meeting, Pater- son said.

But, everyone involved is staying positive.

Paterson said he feels good about the decision to hire Polla and will be happy to have him on board.

"I think (Polla is) one who can communicate and speak out to the community," Paterson said. "He's a good leader and manager hellip; and he has done well on the operational and financial side."

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

Polla said he started his career in banking after graduating from the University of Idaho in 1971 and receiving his master's degree from Pa- cific Coast Banking School in Seattle in 1981.

He now has 25 years of experience in the health care field and more than 22 years as a health care administrator in three states.

The Times has worked to obtain more information about Polla throughout the past few weeks and not all comments about his past job performance have been positive.

Polla worked as CEO for seven years at Three Rivers Hospital before the Missoula health center. Vicki Orford, a hospital board commissioner at Three Rivers, had just been appointed to the board when members called for Polla's termination. He resigned soon after.

"I did say publicly that I did not feel that (Polla) was doing his job to the best of his ability," Orford said. "There is no way we would hire Mr. Polla back."

Orford said she wouldn't go into detail about what prompted her decision, and only said she believed Polla was involved in transactions that may not have been ethi- cal.

Orford said one transaction he was involved in was legally questionable, but the rest were not illegal. Orford served out her appointed term and was later elected for a six-year term on the hospital board where she still serves.

The current administration at Three Rivers Hos- pital will not release any information on Polla's de- parture.

" Our CEO Bud Huf- nagel feels it is not Three Rivers Hospital's place to release information on any previous administrator," said Rebecca Meadows, the director of community relations and marketing for the hospital.

Polla said he didn't un- derstand why Orford had called for his dismissal and how she could have made her decision about him after being on the board for one month.

He said when he submitted his resignation, the hospital had been downsiz- ing and restructuring its organization. Polla said he believes he and Orford just didn't see eye to eye.

"When you're a CEO in tough times, you can't be very popular," Polla said. "Hospitals have been get- ting squeezed hellip; my biggest fear for the industry is being strained."

As CEO of the Columbia

County Health System, Polla said he would like to work with the community and the hospital board to make decisions. He said he doesn't want to jump in and make changes -- he wants to first get a feel for the district and execute its plans.

Polla said the staff of the Columbia County Health System is full of upbeat, energetic people who are great to be around.

"Hospital work uses every ability you have," Polla said. "(The health system staff) is great, there are no big holes in the staff hellip; there is a really good team in place."

He said he likes to work with everyone and bring people together.

"It's fun to work together and measure your accomplishments," Polla said. "And hopefully keep progressing forward."

When he's not working, Polla said he enjoys hunting, fishing and golfing, although he confesses he isn't a very good golfer.

Mark Barglof, a Spokane resident and long-time friend and golf partner of Polla's, said Polla likes being in- volved in rural health care and is the right man for this job.

"I think he would fit very beautifully in Dayton," Bar- glof said. "He's a great guy hellip; (and) he'll be active in the community."

Barglof said Polla has many years of experience and is a financial wizard.

Polla said Dayton seems like a good fit for him and his wife, Kathy Polla. He said he and Kathy love the rural, small community.

"Everyone was so nice and welcoming," Polla said.