Jason Cleckler has built his capabilities as a CEO from the ground up. His past experience serves him well today to identify problems and opportunities for staff and patients. We took some time to learn more about him, as well as the facility he heads.

HCB News: How did you get involved in health care?
JC: I got involved in the early ‘90s. I started as an RN. I began my career in inpatient psychiatry for many years. I taught at the University of Colorado and changed direction to become an ER trauma nurse, then ICU. From there, I took a path into administrative. But the big reason I got involved was that I was very interested in science and psychiatry, so nursing combined those. I think the biggest factor, however, was that I had a cousin who was an RN, and very influential, telling me about the career and benefits, and how she could make a difference. So looking back, I feel it was a very good decision back in the ‘80s when I first made it.

HCB News: How did you get involved in Delta Hospital?
JC: I’ve been here a little over seven years. I was working in the ICU in a neighboring hospital. Then an opportunity opened to be the trauma nurse coordinator, to be involved in process and quality improvement.

HCB News: How long have you been CEO?
JC: A little over three years. Prior to that, I managed trauma, then was an ER director, and then chief clinical officer for about two years.

HCB News: Are there any recent developments you’d like to highlight?
JC: The biggest changes have been focused on creating a larger network to provide access for patients, in part, by employing more physicians. We opened several new primary care clinics and brought some new ones on to create that network. Small rural standalone hospitals are being purchased by larger systems, so we’ve focused on regional collaboration with other hospitals in our region. We’ve moved down the path of creating an ACO. There are three other hospitals in our region, and it may sound strange, but the more we work together, the more we can remain independent through increased collaboration and sharing of resources. Hospitals that were formally competing are working together to make each other stronger and more viable.

HCB News: How has staffing been? Are you finding any areas just don’t have enough people entering the field?
JC: I think that there have been several areas that have been challenging. One is hiring primary care physicians — because we’ve tried to hire ones that also do OB. So finding the right person, and someone who fits into our community, can be challenging. Rehab and speech therapy has been hard. With nursing we’ve done pretty well. We have a nursing school about 35 miles north. But within nursing, finding someone within OB has been a challenge. Another challenge has been internal medicine physicians.

HCB News: What attracts staff to Delta Hospital?
JC: We’re appealing due to our location. We’re in a beautiful area, with nice weather, outdoor opportunities. The community is primarily farming and ranching, with about 20 wineries in the area. It’s a rural lifestyle, low crime, low pollution, but close enough to a metropolitan area for shopping. At the hospital itself, we’re very focused on a team approach and every employee, no matter their role, has a say in where the hospital is going. Employee engagement is truly paramount to the success of the hospital. In order to improve the patient experience we need to improve the employee experience. So employee engagement and running a transparent organization has made us able to attract and retain employees.

HCB News: What is your patient mix?
JC: Our typical payor mix is [primarily] Medicare and Medicaid. Age range is across the board, certainly leaning toward a retirement community. But really, what we see is a mix.

HCB News: How has the ACA impacted your facility?
JC: ACA has been a mixed bag. Some things have been good for us and some have been challenging. The state of Colorado was one of the states that decided to expand Medicaid, so we have more people, and it’s been challenging providing services on the low end of reimbursement. But we’ve been proactive. We’ve been able to increase services and serve more patients. Because we’ve been proactive and doing advanced planning, we will be in a better place once we adjust.