The Oklahoma Hospital Association installed a new board chair and elected new board members during its recent annual business meeting. Denise Webber, president & CEO, Stillwater Medical Center, was installed as 2024-25 chair of the OHA board of directors. Installing Webber were Tammy Powell, immediate past chair and president, SSM Health St. Anthony Hospital – Oklahoma City; and Rich Rasmussen, OHA president & CEO. Jim Gebhart, community president, Mercy Oklahoma, was elected to serve as chairelect of the OHA board. He will serve as the association’s board chair in 2026-27.
Corey Lively, CEO, Great Plains Regional Medical Center, Elk City, was elected as secretary/ treasurer to the board. Newly elected to serve on the board for three-year terms are these new at-large members: Steve Hartgraves, president/ CEO, Jackson County Memorial Hospital, Altus, and Harmon Memorial Hospital, Hollis; Joe Hodges, president/ CEO, SSM Health Oklahoma; and Cindy J. Martin, senior director, hospital administration, Cherokee Nation Health Services, Tahlequah. Recently elected by their respective regions as new regional chairs are: Trent Bourland, CEO, Coal County Memorial Hospital, Coalgate, southeast region; Kevin Joseph, MD, chief clinical officer, Ascension St. John, Tulsa region; and Tom Vasko, CEO, Newman Memorial Hospital, Shattuck, northwest region. Appointed as the physician member is Cliff Robertson, MD, president/CEO, Saint Francis Health System, Tulsa. Others continuing to serve on the OHA board of directors in 2024 are: Jonas Rabel, chief hospital executive, INTEGRIS Miami and Grove hospitals, northeast region chair; Brent Smith, CEO, Comanche County Memorial Hospital, Lawton, southwest region chair; Bennett Geister, CEO, Hillcrest Hospital South, Tulsa, at-large member; Richard Lofgren, MD, CEO, OU Health, at-large member; and Tim Pehrson, president/CEO, INTEGRIS Health, at-large member. Also serving on the OHA board of directors as American Hospital Association (AHA) delegate is Dr. Charles Grim, secretary of health, Chickasaw Nation Department of Health. The Oklahoma City region chair position is currently vacant following the election of Gebhart as chair elect. An election in that region will take place soon.
