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THINGS TO KNOW 2013 • 43
CROOK COUNTY PEOPLE
Bob Gomes
CEO, Pioneer Memorial Hospital,
St. Charles Redmond
Consider it noteworthy to meet
Bob Gomes on the road or trail, for
while cycling is one of his favorite
pastimes, Gomes, 49, is a busy
man. Since he serves as CEO of
both Pioneer Memorial Hospital in
Prineville and St. Charles Redmond,
it’s a wonder he has free time at
all.
Gomes, who said his week typi-
cally consists of two days in
Prineville, two in Redmond, and a
day or so of meetings in Bend,
started his career as an Air Force
recruit right out of high school.
This is an atypical path by any
definition, but he said education
had always been his objective.
“That was my goal,” he said,
“was to go in and get my educa-
tion, and that (Air Force) was my
avenue to get college money.”
He initially wanted to be an
electrical engineer.
“When I had my first job in
the Air Force with electronics, it
was boring,” he said, “so I
thought there’s got to be
something better out there for me.”
Night school and a bachelor’s degree led to his officer’s com-
mission, and work as a consultant at an Air Force hospital.
“I really enjoyed it,” he said, “and so they kind of took me in
their arms and said, ‘Hey. Why don’t you become an administrator
for us?’ That’s what got me into health care.”
By 1999, he also had two master’s degrees from the University
of Colorado in Denver — one in health administration and the
other in business administration. This time, the Air Force picked
up the tab.
“I applied for a program where only a dozen people get selected
a year to go to school and get their masters. I got to go to school
full time.”
Mission accomplished. He not only got his education but was
debt free.
After 20 years, Gomes retired from the Air Force, and landed a
job as the Vice President of Physician Services at St. Peter’s
Hospital in Helena, Mont., a position he held for seven years. Then,
the position at Pioneer Memorial became available.
“My next step, really, was to become a CEO,” he said, “and so
this was one position I liked, because of its proximity to Central
Oregon, and what they offer here.”
Gomes came to Pioneer Memorial Hospital in February 2010.
Redmond was added to his duties in September 2011.
“Trying to make a difference where we can provide quality, safe
care, and a great experience for our patients - that’s what really
drives me,” he said. “The other thing about it is no two days are
the same.”
Gomes said he enjoys the intimacy of working at a small, rural
hospital.
“I get to know everybody personally,” he said. “I get to know
them as an individual. I get to know some of their families. It’s nice
to
have a little more hands-on
and a little more visibility.”
One of his primary goals as CEO — and also the greatest chal-
lenge — is physician recruitment. It’s not easy attracting health
care professionals to a rural environment. Even so, an MD after
someone’s name doesn’t guarantee a practice in Prineville, a poli-
cy Gomes said might generate some criticism.
“We had 11 physicians last year we said ‘no’ to. A lot of people
don’t like that, but what we want is people that will not only fit on
the medical staff here, but we want good fits for the community.
The kind of physician that wants to come to Prineville is someone
that wants to live in a small community, they want to be involved
in the community, and they want to have a full spectrum of care
here.”
Running a close second is financial stability, he said.
“It’s one of those things where we don’t provide all services to
all people,” Gomes explained. “We just can’t. But the services we
do provide we want to be the best at it and we want our communi-
ty to want to use them. We have it better than some people that
are even more rural than we are, but that’s going to be the chal-
lenge.”
Gomes appreciates that Prineville has welcomed him, and he
also likes what he calls the “culture of can-do.”
“Prineville to me is kind of like, ‘you know what, we might have
been down economically, but we’re going to figure out how we can
get out of this, and how we can make it even better for the future.’
I think this community has a great hospital, and I think what we’re
doing is just trying to make it better so this community gets the
best care it can get.
“The future is bright for Pioneer Memorial Hospital.”
Bob Gomes has worked as CEO of Pioneer Memorial Hospital since February 2010.