Pitchford Named NRHA Fellow

Ed Pitchford, president and chief executive officer at Charles Cole Memorial Hospital, has been selected as a 2010 National Rural Health Association Rural Health Fellow.

Seven fellows were chosen based on their educational background, commitment to rural health care issues, and geographic and professional diversity. The year long program is designed to develop, educate, and inspire rural health leaders across the country. The new class of fellows will meet in person and via conference calls throughout the year to discuss leadership, advocacy, regulatory, policy, strategic planning, and legislative issues.

“We are very pleased to announce this new class of fellows as this program enters its fourth year. Once again, this class represents various levels of rural health care expertise,” said Alan Morgan, NRHA CEO. “With the successes achieved by the previous three classes, we look forward to continuing the tradition of building rural health care leaders through this valuable program.”

Pitchford was elected to the Pennsylvania Rural Health Association board of directors last June and serves on the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania Public Policy Committee and Council of Small Hospitals. Over the past year, he was instrumental in working with state legislators to secure $11 million in additional funding for critical access hospitals in Pennsylvania and to introduce widely endorsed legislation to make this funding permanent. He testified before the Pennsylvania Public Health and Welfare Committee and worked with the Senate republican leadership in crafting proposed legislation to enhance access to primary care throughout Pennsylvania. Most recently, his hospital hosted 13 Republican State Representatives for a forum on rural health issues and innovations in rural emergency medicine.

Pitchford’s career in health care spans 30 years, including being associated with Charles Cole periodically since 1979, serving first as the hospital’s independent auditor, its chief financial officer, and currently its president and CEO. He also worked for 14 years as an executive at the Borgess Health Alliance, Kalmazoo, Mich.

Charles Cole Memorial Hospital is a full service, comprehensive health system based in Coudersport with service throughout north central Pennsylvania. In addition to the hospital’s main campus in Coudersport, CCMH provides primary health care, including wellness and physical therapy, to surrounding communities in four counties at rural health centers in Galeton, Ulysses, Westfield, Shinglehouse, Port Allegany, Eldred, Smethport, and Emporium. For additional information on the hospital’s services and medical providers, visit www.charlescolehospital.com.