WMC to receive new administrator as Robert Rang steps down

Robert Rang came on as the Wrangell Medical Center's administrator in October of 2015. The hospital was only the latest step in a three-decade career. Rang said he started his career as a CNA, and he kept on slowly rising up in the business.

He was working in Kodiak when he first heard about this job being available in Wrangell, he said.

"The opportunity opened up, it was something I was very interested in. Small town life is what my wife and I enjoy, along with all the other activities that are in this area," he said.

When he accepted the job as hospital administrator, Rang said he had four goals. In his three-and-a-half years on the job, he said he believes he has accomplished all of them. These goals were to address community concerns and the hospital's local reputation, fix the working culture within the medical center, focus on finances, and get a new hospital.

The first two goals were somewhat interconnected. The medical center had a bit of a poor reputation around town not too long ago, Rang said. Some of his employees were somewhat embarrassed to admit that they worked at the hospital, he said, and that was something they worked hard to turn around by improving the quality of care and focusing on patient experience.

"We've gotten five-star ratings with CMS, we've won numerous quality awards within the state, we've been recognized twice by U.S. News & World Report as one of the best nursing homes. Those accomplishments, although I get credit for them because I'm sitting in this office, it's the work that the team's doing," he said.

Finances were another priority for Rang, and he said it was one of the most challenging. For a long time, the Wrangell Medical Center was fully self-sufficient being one of the few hospitals left in the state that could make that claim. However, he said that self-sufficiency is no longer a feasible reality for many hospitals, especially an aging one like the WMC. So, as many Wrangell residents are aware, SEARHC was brought in to take over supervision for the hospital. He got SEARHC's attention, partially, through already having a relationship with the senior executive vice president, Dan Neumeister.

"Right now the only one [self-sufficient hospital] left is Petersburg," Rang said. "For us, that's difficult when you've got a 60-year-old building and you've got unexpected expenses ... I've known Dan Neumesiter for a while, we both belong to the state hospital association, and then they were also courting AICS when they took over their operations. So it was just conversations with those guys about what they could offer us."

Money is not the only thing being affiliated with SEARHC brings to the table. They will also be building a new facility next to the AICS clinic on Wood Street. Rang accredited Wrangell Borough Manager Lisa Von Bargen and other members of the city, medical center, and SEARHC for bringing the deal together. The new hospital is expected to be opened in January of 2021.

After accomplishing all these goals, Rang decided that it was time for him to step down. He said that after becoming affiliated with SEARHC, his job description has changed. They were not bad changes, he said, but the job was not a real challenge for him anymore. He has decided to take on a new position as hospital administrator in Seward, and will be leaving shortly after Memorial Day weekend. He said he is very grateful for his time in Wrangell, as well as the hospital staff and the wider community for all their support.

According to a press release from SEARHC, a new hospital administrator was chosen on March 26. Leatha Merculieff began her career in healthcare in 1999 at the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. She said in an interview that she was originally planning to go a more corporate route with her career, but felt that there was a real need for more Alaska Natives in the healthcare field. One of her main focuses through her career has been on improving patient experience. In 2012 she was promoted to the Alaska Native Medical Center/Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium's Vice President of Customer Experience.

"I really found a passion around healthcare and patient experience," Merculieff said. "Number one, they're our family and friends. I want everyone to have a positive experience, no matter the medical outcome."

In 2015, she joined SEARHC as the Vice President of Executive Administration. One of the main parts of her job in this role, according to a biography provided by SEARHC, was to collaborate with executive leadership in managing patient experience. This included things like managing community relations, patient travel, communications strategies, marketing, strategic development, and many other things. She said that she is looking forward to her new position in Wrangell, and is excited to move to town.

"I've always thought Wrangell was very pretty, and the people very welcoming," she said. "The opportunity to be at a new facility is amazing."

While she has not lived in Wrangell before, she said that she does have some family connections to the area. Her grandparents lived in Wrangell, she said, and had built a house there. Her grandmother was a nurse at the old Bishop Rowe hospital, too, she added.

As the new administrator, Merculieff said she has several priorities. Overseeing construction of the new hospital is one of the top priorities, she said, but she will also be focusing on combining SEARHC and AICS staff together to prepare them for the new facility. Another priority for her, in keeping with her career-long focus on patient experience, is looking for ways to improve the medical center's services.

"I'm very excited to move to Wrangell," she said.