Press Release

Three RPMH employees hold statewide positions

Written by Lorena Turnbow
Copyright © 2007 Sweetwater Reporter, reprinted with permission

Rolling Plains Memorial Hospital (RPMH) and its staff are committed to providing their patients with the highest quality health care possible. To help insure that happens, the hospital is also committed to the quality of its leadership on the staff.

“The entire community benefits from the quality of leadership at RPMH,” hospital administrator Tom Kennedy said. “The Texas hospital industry has recognized the demonstrated competence of the leaders at RPMH by selecting and electing them to statewide positions representing all hospitals, regardless of size.”

Kennedy said the local hospital presently has three employees who have been elected to state office organizations, and who are all serving simultaneously at this time.

They are Gay Nell Cherry, who is president of the Texas Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration and Education (TSHHRAE); Donna Boatright, who is president of the Texas Organization of Nurse Executives (TONE); and Rhonda Guelker, who is president-elect of the Texas Association of Healthcare Financial Administration (TAHFA).

Cherry is the director of human resources (HR) at RPMH. The function of the HR department is to support and serve the employees in the management of the hospital by being familiar with all HR issues such as state and federal laws.

“My office is responsible for recruiting competent employees that are able to provide good patient care to the citizens of Nolan County,” Cherry said.

Cherry said the mission of TSHHRAE is to advance the development of excellence in HR administration and management; in education in Texas health care facilities through the exchange of information and knowledge; and to further the professional development and competence of its members.

Cherry said TSHHRAE board members strive to provide services to make their members’ jobs easier, more productive and successful. She said the network of HR professionals and educators available to members of this society is invaluable, as pressure has increased nationwide and in Texas to lower healthcare costs.

Cherry said HR administrators and educators have to take individual responsibility in performing their jobs in the most cost effective, productive and innovative manner. She said TSHHRAE helps by providing information to its members.

Cherry, who grew up in Roby, has been employed with RPMH since 1989 and prior to that time held the same position from 1976-1980. She and her husband Gill have two sons, Gabe and Grant.

Cherry is a member of the Sweetwater Chamber of Commerce and is presently a chamber ambassador. Her past duties include serving as a chamber board member and president. She has also served on the Nolan County United Way board, and the advisory boards to Sweetwater High School and Texas State Tech-nical College. She is a member of the Fourth and Elm Church of Christ.

Donna Boatright is the associate administrator at RPMH. She has been an employee for 30 years and serves as chief nurse. She has been in charge of the nursing department for 27 years, where her primary responsibilities are to oversee patient care and the operation of other related services.

Boatright said TONE is the voice of nurse leaders and advocates for nursing and healthcare issues.

TONE, which was first organized on Sept. 27, 1968, allows members to participate in education programs that focus on current issues related to nursing administration and the development and refining of nursing management skills, as well as working to influence the practice of nursing in Texas.

Boatright said TONE is recognized as the premier network among nurse executives and leaders, a value unmeasured in any organization. She said it provides a wealth of opportunity through meetings and establishing relationships to learn from other leaders in the profession.

TONE is affiliated with the influential Texas Hospital Association, which allows it to have timely updates and impact on pressing issues directly affecting nurse executives in Texas.

Boatright, a native of Sweetwater, graduated from Sweetwater High School in 1972 and from nursing school in 1977. She received her bachelor’s degree from Hardin-Simmons University, and a masters degree from Abilene Christian University. She and her husband Kent have two sons.

Boatright has served on the Sweetwater ISD board of trustees. She is a member of First United Methodist Church, and has been involved in many activities there and in the community.

“Be proud of the facility that we have here,” Boatright said. “Our goal is to provide the highest quality care while at the same time promoting the health of the community we serve.”

Rhonda Guelker is senior director of fiscal services at RHPH. Some of her duties include preparing monthly financial statements for the board, preparing the budget and determining the tax rate, and preparing cost report infor-mation for the Medicare cost report. She has been with RPMH for 16 years.
Guelker served as treasurer for TAHFA for one year prior to becoming president-elect. As president-elect, she keeps up with all facets of the organization while preparing to assume the office of president in April 2008.

TAHFA hosts two conferences a year, providing healthcare financial executives with superior networking and educational opportunities. The board itself meets four times a year. The organization works to educate its members and seeks to ensure that financial information is communicated in a manner that is clear, concise and correct.

Guelker said she would like people to know how difficult health care finance is today, especially in the area of reimbursements, and that she is there to help them understand how the financial system works.
Guelker is also a native of Sweetwater, and graduated from Sweetwater High School in 1985. She attended Angelo State University, were she received a B.B.A. degree. in accounting. She later received her CPA license in 1990.

Guelker and her husband, Joe, have two children, Caitlin and Kendall Moses. They are members of the Holy Family Church.

Guelker is involved in the Parent Teacher Organization at her children’s schools. She has also served as board member for Pee Wee basketball.

“Although we are frequently referred to as a small world hospital, we are very well known statewide and respected,” Cherry said.

“The fact that we have three members presiding over three organizations simultaneously, and that we are from an 85-bed hospital in a community of 12,000 (people), shows that we are leaders in Texas health care.”

Past employees of RPMH who were elected to service on statewide organizations have included Pam Rhodes, who was named as Trustee of the Year for the entire United States; Jerry Smola, Texas Osteopathic Medical Association president; Tere Lawrence, Texas Hospital Trustees president; and Tom Kennedy, Texas Hospital Association Board and Execu-tive Committee and American Hospital Association policy board member.