Leadership

President & Chief Executive Officer, Samaritan Health Services

An Iowa native, Doug Boysen attended University of Northern Iowa where he received a bachelor’s degree in business administration. He continued his education at the University of Iowa, graduating with both a master’s degree in health administration and a juris doctorate. He has maintained his connection to the University of Iowa by serving on the Alumni Board of Directors for the Master of Health Administration program.

Upon graduation, Boysen worked for several years at Von Briesen, Purtell & Roper, a nationally recognized health law firm, as an associate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He then spent more than five years as assistant general counsel at Legacy Health in Portland, Oregon. Boysen joined Samaritan Health Services in 2006 as vice president and general counsel, and in 2012 he was promoted to vice president general counsel and human resources. Boysen returned briefly to Wisconsin, spending a year as regional counsel for UnityPoint Health, a large regional health system with more than 30 hospitals and 30,000 employees. In June 2015, Boysen returned to Samaritan Health Services as executive vice president and chief administrative officer. He became president and CEO of Samaritan Health Services in early 2018. He has served as a guest lecturer at Oregon State University, Pacific University and Western University of Health Sciences, and as an adjunct faculty member at Oregon State University and Pacific University. Boysen is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives and the American Health Lawyers Association.

Boysen is an active member of the local community, volunteering with Willamette Neighborhood Housing Services, Center for Nonprofit Stewardship, Big Brothers Big Sisters and Trout Unlimited. He was also appointed in 2017 to the Corvallis Vision 2040 Implementation Group — ICAN (Imagine Corvallis Action Network Advisory Board).

Associate Vice President of Strategy & Planning, Samaritan Health Services

Balzer joined Samaritan Health Services in 2010, following service as junior financial planner at a wealth management firm in Oregon. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Oregon State University in business administration with an emphasis in finance and a master’s degree in business administration in 2016 from Bushnell University. In her role as associate vice president of strategy & planning for Samaritan, Balzer leads the strategic planning process for the organization and also oversees systemwide initiatives  and business planning operations for Samaritan.

She also completed the American College of Healthcare Executives Executive Leadership training program in 2016.

Chief Executive Officer, InterCommunity Health Network & Samaritan Health Plans

Butler joined Samaritan Health Services in June 2019. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University and an MBA in finance from University of Chicago.

His previous roles include chief executive officer of Valley Health Plan, a county-owned managed care organization in San Jose, Calif.; chief strategy officer for the University of California health care systems and chief underwriter for Presbyterian Health Plan in Albuquerque, N.M. He has previously served on the board of directors of Ventures LLC, a Seattle-based nonprofit organization that provides access to business training, capital, coaching and hands-on learning opportunities for entrepreneurs with limited resources, the California Public Hospital Association and the New Mexico Health Insurance Alliance. 

Chief Executive Officer, Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital

A Massachusetts native, Cahill relocated to Oregon as an undergraduate to attend the University of Oregon, where he received a bachelor’s degree in sociology. He followed that with a Master of Business Administration with an emphasis in organizational behavior from Marylhurst University in Marylhurst, Ore.

Cahill has worked for Samaritan Health Services since 2007, when he was hired as the director of physician relations for the medical staff at all five Samaritan hospitals. He served as CEO of Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital from 2009 to 2015. In 2013, he was appointed COO of Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital and assumed the role of its CEO in 2015.

As CEO at Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital, Cahill played a major role in implementing needed programs, navigating the hospital team through personnel and system changes, working to keep the hospital and various clinics operating at a profitable margin, and showing an unwavering commitment to recruitment, retention and development of a highly skilled health care team.

Cahill actively supported and helped to implement the hospitalist program at Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital. The hospitalist program was designed to help with the recruitment of new physicians to Lincoln City, improve the quality of inpatient care and provide relief to community-based providers.

In addition, he oversaw the construction and operation of the Samaritan Early Learning Center, a facility in Lincoln City designed specifically to meet the developmental and educational needs of young children.

Cahill’s duties now include executive leadership of Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital and its associated primary and specialty physician clinics, the facilities on the Samaritan Health Sciences Campus, and all Samaritan Medical Supplies locations. He has led the expansion of the hospital’s Emergency, Surgery and Same Day Care departments and developed a new multi-discipline clinic and retail pharmacy facility, as well as the 84-room award-winning Best Western PREMIER^® Boulder Falls Inn, 1847 Bar & Grill, Boulder Falls Center and the one-acre Japanese garden and pond on the Boulder Falls campus.

He most recently worked with Samaritan’s philanthropy team to raise funds to build a residential substance abuse treatment center in Lebanon near the hospital, to help address the growing issue of substance abuse in the Willamette Valley. The center opened in April 2020.

Vice President of Population Health, Samaritan Health Services

Cunningham serves as the vice president of population health for Samaritan Health Services. In this position, he devotes his time to helping Samaritan improve the quality, cost and experience of care for the people it serves, as well as working with the community to support healthy lifestyles and improve the social and economic environment.

Cunningham joined Samaritan Health Services in July 2007 as corporate director of Planning and Business Development. Prior to joining Samaritan, he worked as director of Planning and as a New Services/Legislative Affairs officer for Silverton Health Network in Silverton, Ore. Cunningham has served in both clinical and administrative roles for several Oregon health care organizations, including OHSU, Portland VA Medical Center and Providence Health and Services. He is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives, AHA Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development, and the Medical Group Management Association. He received a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU) Portland and a master’s degree in Business Administration. He is also certified in LEAN process improvement methodology and is a green belt in Six Sigma.

Vice President - Central Operations, Samaritan Foundations

Gilmour joined Samaritan Health Services in 2014, following service as director of operations for the Providence Alaska Foundation in Anchorage. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Oregon State University and is a 2016 graduate of Leadership Corvallis. In her role as vice president of central operations for Samaritan Foundations, Gilmour oversees operations and fundraising efforts throughout the system.

Chief Executive Officer, Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center

Hennum serves as chief executive officer of Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center. In this position, she leads Samaritan’s largest hospital, with 188 patient beds and dozens of medical specialties including comprehensive cancer care, a full-service cardiology and cardiovascular surgery program, neurosurgery, orthopedic and spine surgery, inpatient mental health and other regional services.

Hennum joined Samaritan in August 2020 after leading multiple “neighborhood (micro) hospitals” in Southern Nevada with Dignity Health as well as multiple health facilities with MultiCare in the Puget Sound region. A Portland native, she began her career with Providence Health & Services and held leadership roles with health care organization in central and Southern California prior to joining Dignity.

Vice President & General Counsel, Samaritan Health Services

Jacobsen has served as Samaritan Health Services vice president and general counsel since 2014. In this role, he provides guidance on all aspects of health care law with a focus on regulatory matters and strategic and transactional projects, including affiliations, joint ventures and physician alignment initiatives. His responsibilities extend to the oversight, growth and development of several important areas of the organization, including legal services and corporate governance.

Prior to joining Samaritan as assistant general counsel in 2010, Jacobsen was a prosecutor with the Lancaster County Attorney’s Office in Lincoln, Nebraska. In addition to his work at Samaritan, he is an active member of the American College of Healthcare Executives, the American Health Lawyers Association and the Oregon Society of Healthcare Executives. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Medical Legal Partnership of Oregon and the City of Corvallis Police Review Board. 

He earned a bachelor’s degree from Hastings College and a juris doctorate from Willamette University College of Law in Salem, Ore.

Senior Vice President/Chief Administrative Officer, Samaritan Health Services

Kaiser serves as the senior vice president chief administrative officer for Samaritan Health Services. In this position, she focuses on aligning the various aspects of the system to ensure they are working together to meet the needs of the communities it serves. She does this through oversight of various corporate areas including, Foundations, Government Affairs, Wellness, Planning and Strategy.

Kaiser joined Samaritan Health Services in 1995 focusing on provider relations for InterCommunity Health Network. In 1999, she was named CEO of InterCommunity Health Network and in 2005 was named CEO of Samaritan Health Plans. In addition, she has had executive responsibility for various Samaritan physician groups over the years.

Kaiser is the past chair of the Corvallis Chamber of Commerce and currently serves on the Chamber’s Business Advocacy Committee. She is a past board member of the Rotary Club of Corvallis and serves on the Oregon State Credit Union Board of Directors. She is also a member of the Oregon Health Leadership Council in addition to serving as a member of the OSU College of Public Health and Human Sciences Community Advisory Council. Kaiser was named Junior First Citizen in 2008 for her contributions to the community.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in health care administration and a master’s degree in health policy and management from Oregon State University.

Chief Executive Officer, Samaritan Albany General Hospital

Keteri attended Finlandia University in Hancock, Michigan, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing. He followed that with a second bachelor’s degree in organizational communication from Marylhurst University, Marylhurst, Ore., and then earned a master’s in health care leadership from Western Governors University, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Keteri has been in nursing for 33 years, nurse management for 30 years and executive management for nearly 18 years. He began his career as a travel nurse in Hawaii before accepting a position at PeaceHealth Southwest Washington Medical Center in Vancouver, Wash., in 1987. He joined Samaritan Health Services in 2015, when he was hired as the vice president of Patient Care Services at Samaritan Albany General Hospital.

As vice president of Patient Care Services, Keteri focused on improving patient experience, implementing resources and attaining several hospital recognitions.

Through his leadership, Samaritan Albany General Hospital was elevated from the 45^th percentile to the 75^th percentile in overall patient experience. LEAN methodology was applied in the emergency department and consistently exceeds national benchmarks for maximizing patient value through reduction of waste and wait time. Keteri also led a room privatization project, enabling all patients the privacy of having single occupancy rooms.

In addition, he oversaw the establishment of Sarah’s Place, the only 24/7, freestanding sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) center in Oregon.

Keteri’s duties now include executive leadership of Samaritan Albany General Hospital and its associated primary and specialty physician clinics. He and his team have been recognized as a certified Stroke Primary Center, a certified total hip and knee replacement program and a five-star hospital, awarded by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Chief Quality Officer, Samaritan Health Services

Dr. Mikula leads Samaritan’s continual efforts to achieve the highest levels of clinical quality, safety and patient experience.

She works collaboratively with the leadership teams of Samaritan’s five hospitals and Samaritan Medical Group, and oversees the work of Samaritan’s Quality and Safety and Patient Experience departments.

Before joining Samaritan, Dr. Mikula served as the vice president and chief quality officer for Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and Penn State Children’s Hospital, which are both Level I trauma centers, as well as for Penn State Medical Group.

A practicing physician, Dr. Mikula is board certified in pediatrics and a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. She earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Wayne State University and a medical degree from Wayne State University School of Medicine. She completed combined internal medicine and pediatric residency training at Penn State Children’s Hospital and Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and served as the chief resident and instructor in pediatrics for the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine.

She has chaired numerous committees and participates on several boards related to quality and safety, including the National Patient Safety Foundation and the international non-profit ECRI Institute.

Chief Executive Officer, Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital & Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital

Dr. Lesley Ogden serves as chief executive officer for the two Samaritan coastal critical access hospitals. Previously, she served as chief operations officer at SNLH and as interim CEO at SPCH and worked clinically as an emergency and urgent care clinician.

Dr. Ogden is residency trained and board certified in emergency medicine and has more than 10 years of clinical and leadership experience. She received her Doctor of Medicine degree from Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, South Carolina, and completed her emergency medicine residency at Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland, Oregon. In addition, Dr. Ogden received her Master of Business Administration degree from The Citadel and a Bachelor of Science in Marketing degree from Troy State University. Dr. Ogden has previously served as president of the medical staff of Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital and currently serves as a trustee on both the North Lincoln Hospital Foundation and the Pacific Communities Health District Foundation boards. She championed new replacement hospital building projects in both Lincoln City and Newport and the innovative, efficient and state-of-the-art hospital facilities opened in 2019-2020 and are now serving the residents of Lincoln County.

As a member of the Lincoln County coastal community, Dr. Ogden is an active Rotarian in Lincoln City and served as club President in 2016-2017. She serves on the board of directors of the Economic Development Alliance of Lincoln County as well as the Oregon Coast Community College Foundation board.

Senior Vice President/Chief Information Officer, Samaritan Health Services

Sapra joined Samaritan Health Services in 2021 as chief information officer and senior vice president, assisting SHS leadership in strategic decisions specific to information services and systems. 

With more than 18 years in the field, Sapra’s previous positions included senior vice president/chief information officer for University of Louisville Health, an academic medical center and Level 1 trauma center with more than 15,000 employees. He also spent 10 years in a similar role at Tuality Healthcare in Hillsboro, had a project leadership role at Seattle Children’s Hospital and worked for four years with Cerner Corporation, a major developer of electronic health record systems.

Sapra is a member of College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME), a member of Health Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS). He is a Certified Healthcare CIO through CHIME and has been awarded Best Hospital IT Team and earned a Forty Under 40 award by the Portland Business Journal in his past. 

Sapra earned a bachelor’s degree from Middlesex University, United Kingdom and his Executive MBA for the University of Oregon.

Vice President of Marketing & Communications, Samaritan Health Services

Schauer leads Samaritan’s systemwide marketing and communications team, supporting strategic engagement with employees, providers, patients, partners and consumers.

Before joining Samaritan in 2022, Schauer served at Asante, a community-based not-for-profit health system in southern Oregon, where she spearheaded infrastructure development to support digital and traditional marketing, business development and communications efforts. Under her leadership the department earned eight national and international recognitions in 2021. Prior to that, she directed system marketing at PeaceHealth, a health system serving three states in the Pacific Northwest, and led communications and marketing at the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine, a top-rated graduate medical school for acupuncture and Chinese medicine.

Schauer earned a bachelor’s degree in English and journalism from Auburn University and a master’s in business administration from Pacific University.

Senior Vice President/Chief Financial Officer, Samaritan Health Services

Smith joined Samaritan Health Services in 1992. He has served the system in various capacities, including controller and chief financial officer for Samaritan Albany General Hospital and then vice president and corporate controller for Samaritan’s corporate operations. In 2012, Smith was named chief financial officer and then in 2018, added senior vice president to his responsibilities.

Smith is a certified public accountant in Oregon and a fellow in the Healthcare Financial Management Association. He earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from California State University, Chico, Calif., and a master’s degree in business administration from George Fox University, Portland, Ore.

Senior Vice President/Chief Physician Executive, Samaritan Health Services

Dr. Turngren’s responsibilities include clinical leadership of Samaritan’s five hospitals, the system’s efforts around clinical quality, safety and patient experience.  He also provides business and clinical leadership of Samaritan’s 600 employed clinicians.

Upon completing his training, he practiced 16 years at the Carle Clinic in Urbana, Ill., opening the first satellite clinic in Monticello, Ill., a community of 5,000.  His practice was full spectrum family medicine, including an active obstetrical practice and logging 10,000 hours in the level one trauma center at the Carle Foundation Hospital.

Subsequent leadership roles included vice president of Centegra Primary Care in Crystal Lake, Ill., and president of the Meriter Medical Group in Madison, Wis. 

During his time at Carle he held various leadership roles including six years on the Clinic Board of Governors and two years as Board Chair. Following his term on the board, Dr. Turngren held the position of senior vice president of Development at Health Alliance Medical Plans, the health plan of the Carle system.

Dr. Turngren completed undergraduate and medical school at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and family medicine residency at Southern Illinois University, Decatur, Ill. He also earned an MBA from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn.

Vice President of Human Resources, Samaritan Health Services

Worden-Acree serves as the vice president of Human Resources for Samaritan Health Services. In this position, she oversees human resource functions for approximately 6,000 employees. This encompasses Compensation and Benefits, Employee Health & Safety, Employee Relations, HR Operations, Professional Development and Talent Acquisition. She spends her time helping Samaritan recruit, train and retain employees, working to improve the employment experience so that Samaritan employees may best serve our patients and the community.

Worden-Acree joined Samaritan Health Services in November 1998 as a staff HR representative. She provides an example of how employees can take advantage of Samaritan’s career development opportunities. Since joining Samaritan, her roles have included compensation analyst, compensation director, corporate HR director and interim vice president of HR. She has served in her current role since 2015.

Worden-Acree is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and World at Work, she maintains certifications from both organizations: SHRM Senior Certified Professional and Certified Compensation Professional. She received an associate degree in business administration from Saddleback College, California. She is active in state and local chapters of her professional organizations and represents Samaritan on the OAHHS Employment Policy Advisory Committee.