Administration

Paul Nurick joined Kittitas Valley Community Hospital as CEO in July 2009. Prior to joining the team, he served for approximately 30 years in leadership roles for large and small healthcare organizations in New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Michigan.

Paul earned an MBA in Health Systems Management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York and his undergraduate degree was from Union College in Schenectady, New York. He has served on the staff of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute School of Management and has been a faculty preceptor for Graduate students in the Health Finance and Management Program of the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, as well as serving as Residency Director for graduates of the Yale School of Public Health.

Gary L. Wangsmo joined KVCH in January 2010 as interim Chief Financial Officer and accepted the permanent CFO position in April 2010. With more than three decades of experience with Pacific Northwest healthcare entities, Gary most recently worked with a Chicago-based consulting group, Wellspring Partners, and served as consultant for Stevens Hospital in Edmonds. He has also served as CFO of Western Institutional Review Board, Inc. in Olympia, worked with Providence Health System for more than 25 years as director of finance for Providence Hospital in Anchorage; CFO of Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia; and corporate director of financial planning and reporting at Providence Health System in Seattle.

Gary earned his undergraduate degree in accounting from the University of Washington and was awarded a master’s in health services administration by the University of Colorado. He is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in the State of Washington.

Craig Wilson, BS, RN joined KVCH as Patient Care Administrator/Chief Nursing Officer in June of 2003.

As Patient Care Administrator, Craig is responsible for the safety of patients and the quality of patient care services throughout the hospital clinical departments. Additionally, Craig oversees the Hospitalist physician program.

Craig’s role as Chief Nursing Officer denotes his responsibility for accountability to nursing practice standards throughout the organization. Craig also provides leadership for the nursing and professional staff to insure consistent high quality patient care

Craig holds a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in nursing from Walla Walla University.

Dick Smith has served Kittitas Valley Community Hospital as Clinic Administrator since 2005. He is responsible for the hospital-owned physician clinics including Kittitas Valley Internal Medicine, Kittitas Valley Orthopedics, Cle Elum Medical Center and Cle Elum Urgent Care.

Prior to joining the team at KVCH, Dick served as Associate Administrator for Wenatchee Valley Medical Center.

He earned his Masters of Business Administration, Health Care Administration from City University, Diploma in Christian Studies from Regent College, Vancouver, B.C., Canada, and Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Whitman College, Walla Walla, Washington. Dick is also on the board of directors for The Rotary Club of Ellensburg.

Lisa McDaniel joined Kittitas Valley Community Hospital in 2004. Prior to joining KVCH, Lisa served as Human Resource Director at Whidbey General Hospital for over ten years and Employee Relations Supervisor for St. Joseph Hospital for five years.

Her role at Kittitas Valley Community Hospital includes continuously improving staffing effectiveness, employee recruitment and retention, and developing programs that meet the needs of the hospital’s present and potential employees. Administrative responsibilities also include supervision of the Employee Health and Safety, Education, Environmental Services, Food and Nutrition Services, Community Health Library, Cancer Outreach and Volunteer departments.

Lisa is also actively involved in Human Resources education and has served as an Adjunct Professor at Central Washington University since 2004 and at the Bellingham Technical College. Lisa earned her Master of Science degree in education and Bachelor of Science from Illinois State University.