BANDON – Dr. Alden Forrester, MD, has joined the staff at Southern Coos Hospital & Health Center as its new Chief Medical Officer.
Forrester previously worked at Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital in Lebanon, Ore., where he was on staff for more than 20 years, serving in a variety of leadership roles, including as a hospitalist physician for the past 18 years.
“It gives me great pleasure to welcome Dr. Forrester to our staff,” said CEO Raymond Hino.
“Dr. Forrester will serve in a dual role for us at SCHHC. He is a full-time employed physician and will be spending time as a Hospitalist, joining the rotation with Dr. Olixn Adams, Dr. Noel Pense, and Dr. Douglas Crane, as well as spending time as a Chief Medical Officer.”
Forrester will serve as a representative of the medical staff on the Executive Team for SCHHC, and will provide the administrative staff with a medical staff voice on things such as strategic planning, policy development, quality reporting, DNV corrective action plans, and more.
Dr. P.J. Keizer remains with SCHHC as Chief of Staff, a peer-elected position. The CMO does not replace the Chief of Staff role, Hino said.
Forrester grew up in the small town of Durham, Maine, and attended college in Michigan. He comes from a background of medical professionals – both of his grandparents on his mother’s side were physicians.
“I got to college and didn’t know what I wanted to do, but I really liked science and I really liked people,” Forrester said. “I figured a doctor would combine those two things.”
After earning a Bachelor of Science in broadcast communications, Forrester attended Loma Linda University in Loma Linda, Calif., where he earned his Doctor of Medicine degree. He completed his residency at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, Maine, and is currently working on his Master of Business Administration (MBA) through Washington State University in Pullman, Wash.
As CMO, Forrester will have a broad spectrum of responsibilities, involving clinical activities of the hospital, from quality and risk, to helping implement programs such as the new medical records system and assisting with provider recruitment.
“There’s a lot of people doing some or all of these jobs now, but my job is to make sure they are coordinated,” Forrester said. “I see it as a unique challenge to strengthen what’s strong about Southern Coos Hospital and not to break what isn’t broken.
“One thing that drew me here was (CEO) Ray Hino and (Chief Financial Officer) Antone Eek and their sense of optimism,” Forrester continued. “We want to grow and retain the highest quality we can. To be part of something that’s growing and expanding is extremely attractive.”
Forrester firmly believes people who live in rural areas should have the same healthcare as everyone else.
“They deserve to have the highest possible healthcare,” he said. “Medicine is changing and, in many ways, not for the better and to be able to find an organization that truly wants to expand and remain excellent – who wouldn’t want to be a part of that?”
Forrester’s wife Carmen and he have been married for 19 years and have two sons, a 15-year-old who is a sophomore at Bandon High School, and a 17-year-old, who is a senior home-schooling through Oregon Connections Academy.
Carmen grew up in Albany, Ore., and the couple met while working in the same hospital, she as a radiology file clerk.
He and his family enjoy camping and swimming (Carmen is a trained lifeguard) and he has his pilot’s license, though hasn’t had the chance to fly for many years.
The family has camped near Bandon a few times and Carmen always wanted to live on the coast, so it “wasn’t a hard sell” when he decided to apply.
“My wife is a wonderful person and typically makes many friends wherever we live. I’m used to people recognizing me on the street because they see me with her, but I’d like it if I could have at least a year to not be known only as Carmen’s husband,” Forrester joked.
“I’m excited to be here,” he added.
“Please join me in welcoming Dr. Forrester and his family to Bandon and to Southern Coos Hospital & Health Center,” Hino said.