Towner County Medical Center CEO recognized by national healthcare publication
Nov. 4—GRAND FORKS — The administrator of the Towner County Medical Center in Cando, North Dakota, has been included in the Becker's Hospital Review 2024 edition of its "90 Critical access hospital CEOs to know" list.
Ben Bucher, chief executive officer, is among critical-access hospital presidents and CEOs across the nation who were recognized for stimulating growth, fostering partnerships and enhancing community wellbeing, according to a release from the Becker's Healthcare organization.
Becker's Hospital Review is a product of Becker's Healthcare, a go-to source for healthcare decision-makers. The list of CEOs was developed based on nominations and editorial research.
"With a relentless drive to improve community health, these leaders expand care access for populations that may otherwise need to travel broadly and spend exorbitant amounts for the care they need," the announcement said.
Critical access hospitals are those that offer 24/7 emergency care and have no more than 25 inpatient beds.
The hospital leaders who were recognized in the 2024 list "are experts in service line expansion, provider recruitment and retention, and the establishment of key partnerships," the announcement said. "Their efforts ensure their hospitals serve as vital resources for their communities."
These leaders "are devoted to high care quality, patient safety and financial stability," according to the release. "(They) bring crucial care services to their organizations, recruit top physicians, and join forces with larger hospitals and health systems that can provide additional resources."
The CEOs featured on the list are "creative thinkers, continually reimagining their approaches to safety, quality, outcomes, service lines, recruitment, retention and more," the announcement said. They share "a deep understanding of the necessity of critical access hospitals (and) are devoted to serving their communities ... by optimizing healthcare."
Bucher, who has served as CEO of Towner County Medical Center since 2015, leads a facility that includes a full-service rural health clinic offering primary care as well as specialty care in orthopedics, cardiology, oncology, dermatology and more.
He has been invited to speak at the organization's annual conference, during the "CEO + CFO Roundtable," next week in Chicago. Bucher is planning to attend; the roundtable topic is "Navigating Innovation: Harmony of impact and scale in healthcare ecosystems."
In July, the Towner County Medical Center opened its new hospital, clinic, emergency room and skilled nursing facility in Cando. In 2024, the medical center was recognized by the National Rural Health Association as a top 20 critical access hospital.
Bucher, a family nurse practitioner, specializes in emergency room care, clinic and hospital medicine. He also serves on boards of the North Dakota Hospital Association, Rough Rider High Value Network, Heartview Foundation and North Dakota Rural Health Association.
Becker's Healthcare provides print, digital and live-event platforms to equip healthcare leaders with information and educational forums, exchange ideas and further conversations about the most critical issues in American healthcare today.
