Chief Operating Officer to Replace Retiring Don Caves
Dawn Shuman has been promoted to Chief Executive Officer of Wild Rose Community Memorial Hospital following the retirement of Don Caves, who has worked at the hospital for more than four decades.
“Don has dedicated a lifetime to the Wild Rose organization,” said Shuman, adding that she’s appreciative of the time she had to learn from his experience and dedication to the community. “His contributions and foresight ensured access to healthcare when many communities were losing their local hospitals.”
Shuman, who has been Wild Rose’s Chief Operating Officer since 2010, started with the hospital in 1989, working as a Certified Nursing Assistant while she pursued a degree in nursing. She was promoted to Director of Nursing in 1995. From 2004 to 2010, she served as the Administrator of Clinical Services. During this period, Wild Rose Hospital added primary care providers and improved access, enhanced clinical diagnostic and emergency services, and expanded the hospital’s rehabilitation programs. This December, she will receive her master’s degree in organizational leadership and quality from Marian University.
“I am excited for this opportunity. I enjoyed working with patients at the bedside, but really feel I’ve been able to have a broader impact on rural healthcare as an administrator. Rural healthcare is a unique specialty, it is meaningful work.” Shuman said. “I work with a talented team that is very committed to the communities we serve. For them, good is never enough, they are always striving to improve. It’s a pleasure to work with people like that.”
Wild Rose Community Memorial Hospital opened in 1941 and offers emergency, diagnostic, rehabilitation and outpatient surgical services. It also operates clinics in Wild Rose, Wautoma, Coloma, and Plainfield.
Roger Williams, who is chair of the hospital’s board of directors, is confident Shuman will do a great job in the new leadership role.
“She’s very thorough and pays attention to detail. She’s done an exceptional job in her other roles with us and she’ll be a great successor to Don (Caves),” he said, adding that Caves just celebrated his 45th anniversary working for the hospital
Shuman said the affiliation with ThedaCare earlier this year will open up a lot of opportunities for both the hospital and its patients.
“Joining with ThedaCare will really help us cut our overhead and reduce spending, which means lower healthcare costs for our patients,” she said. “We also hope to expand outpatient surgical services and bring more specialists to Wild Rose so patients can receive specialized care closer to home.”
Knowing your capabilities is critical for rural facilities. Shuman said. “When patients enter our emergency department, they need to feel confident that they will receive the right care at the right time and in the right place. Our staff does well at identifying when care can be managed locally and when we need to transfer to a higher level of care,” she said. “As long as we focus on providing quality care, doing what is in the best interest of the patient and doing it with compassion, patients will remain confident in local healthcare.”
ThedaCare™ is a community health system consisting of seven hospitals: Appleton Medical Center, Theda Clark Medical Center, ThedaCare Medical Center-New London, Shawano Medical Center, and Riverside Medical Center in Waupaca. Community Health Network/Berlin Memorial Hospital in Berlin, and Wild Rose Community Memorial Hospital are in the process of affiliating with ThedaCare. ThedaCare also includes ThedaCare Physicians, ThedaCare Behavioral Health, and ThedaCare At Home. ThedaCare is one of the largest employers in Northeast Wisconsin with more than 6,175 employees. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
