Shouse to succeed Pieper as OCH CEO

Ohio County Healthcare announced Friday that its Governing Board of Directors has unanimously selected Shellie Shouse, CFO, to succeed Blaine Pieper as Chief Executive Officer, effective July 1.

“On behalf of the Board of Directors and OCH’s 634 employees, we want to thank Blaine for his patient-centered leadership. In his almost four decades of steadfast service, he has had a tremendous impact on the advancement of healthcare in this area. Under his strategic guidance, Blaine grew access to care from a singular hospital location into a multi-specialty healthcare system with 10 offices across the region,” said Jim Duke, governing board president. “Blaine’s philosophy has always been that rural communities deserve the same outstanding care as our urban counterparts, and he made sure to provide just that to all the communities we serve. The entire board is grateful for his service and wishes him the very best in his retirement.”

Of Shouse’s appointment, Jim Duke noted, “The board was very serious and deliberate in our selection of a new CEO. Under the guidance of QHR, we considered and interviewed a number of exceptional candidates. Our board is excited to be able to move Shellie into this position. Her range of well-honed financial and leadership experience plus her familiarity with OCH, including its current challenges and opportunities, will build upon our solid foundation and help guide us into the future.”

Shouse joined the Ohio County Healthcare team in July 2017

Shouse brings to this position over 22 years of leadership experience. She also holds a Master of Business Administration in Healthcare Management and is also a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives since 2014. Shouse will begin immediately in transitioning to this new position, as well as transitioning her current duties as CFO.

“I am honored to have the opportunity to lead OCH and work with the Board, our medical staff, and all the employees associated with Ohio County Healthcare,” states Shouse. “I look forward to continuing to ensure that health care decisions impacting the communities we serve remain on a local level. This is an exciting time for OCH with the expansion of hospital and surgical facilities. I am confident in our organization’s future and look forward to leading the charge to discover even more innovative ways we can serve our patients.”