By Jeanne Sager
HARRIS — July 13, 2007 — A cast of eight of the county’s movers and shakers will turn their eyes to its only hospital next month.
In the wake of the announcement late last month of an affiliation agreement between Catskill Regional Medical Center (CRMC) and Orange Regional Medical Center, a new board of trustees has been crafted.
As expected, former board member and interim chair Gerald Skoda is back, as is Darrell Supak, the chief of staff at Granite Associates. Both have also been named to the board of the Greater Hudson Valley Health System which will take over management of CRMC come August.
They’ll be joined by board members Joan Rhulen Farrow and CRMC’s Medical Director Dr. Joseph Napolitano.
Although the remainder of the slate of the Catskill Regional Medical Center Board of Trustees is new, their faces are still familiar.
Sullivan County Partnership President Marc Baez confirmed he’s been offered a two-year seat on the new board.
“I was flattered,” Baez noted. “Hopefully I can bring some youth and vigor and energy… to make the hospital the best it can be.”
Born and raised in Sullivan County, Baez is a certified economic planner and a board member with the county’s workforce investment board who hopes to put to use his economic development expertise to better the hospital.
“Healthcare’s a big issue,” he said. “Once a business comes in, for their employees the next thing is where are they going to live, where are their kids going to go to school and where are they going to get the best healthcare.”
The hospital will also benefit from the expertise of Sullivan County Industrial Development Agency CEO Allan Scott of Smallwood who often works hand in hand with Baez on economic projects within the county.
Members of the private sector tapped for the new board include:
• Greg Cooper, a Montgomery resident who is managing partner of Cooper, Niemann and Co. Accountants in Mongaup Valley
• Catskill Hudson Bank Board Chair Mario Martinez, president and CEO of Martco Management in Liberty, owner/builder of residential and commercial properties.
Also chair of the Catskill Hudson Bank board, Martinez said he’s long done business with the hospital.
“I think it’s important for the hospital to move forward,” he said. “I’m encouraged that they’re taking all the right steps.”
• Richard Lander, owner of Lander’s River Trips with sites along the Delaware plus a River Mart and cafe in Callicoon. A former supervisor of the Town of Tusten, Lander recently ended a lengthy tenure on the Sullivan West Central School Board when he opted not to run again.
The lifelong resident said his roots are deep in the county, and the hospital is part of that tie.
“We want to make it the best,” he said, declining further comment until he himself knows more about the board’s mission.
• Joseph P. Loughlin, Esq., the vice president of Firestorm Solutions in his hometown of Rock Hill
• Jacqueline Ricciani, Esq., managing partner of Ricciani and Jose, a general law practice in Monticello with a master’s in public administration in healthcare policy and administration.
Also named to the board was a long-time and well-respected member of the medical community, Dr. Louis Rodrigues.
The Monticello pediatrician is currently medical director at the Center for Discovery, and has privileges as an attending physician at Catskill Regional.
Each of the board members will serve out two-year terms beginning August 1.
Their job will be to take CRMC into the future, helping to stem the cash flow that resulted in layoffs late last year.
“They’ll be overseeing Catskill Regional Medical Center, which is operating as an independent hospital,” explained Rob Lee, director of marketing for the Greater Hudson Valley Health System.
“I wouldn’t say that [the new board] answer[s to the Greater Hudson Valley board], but they’ll certainly act in concert with the Greater Hudson Valley goals.”