Richardson resigning from NCHS

I first started at the Bemidji (Minn.) Pioneer as an intern in the summer of 1996. That would begin six years as a news reporter, sports reporter and copy editor for a small, six-day-per-week daily newspaper in northern Minnesota. I wrote a large range of stories from multiple beats, to features to sports, my favorite being the coverage of the Red Lake Reservation High School basketball team named the Warriors. Here is a collection of my stories from my time at the Pioneer.

Feb. 13, 1997

By Devlyn Brooks

Staff Writer

North Country Health Services, owner and operator of North Country Regional Hospital and various other health-related businesses, announced Wednesday the resignation of Mark Richardson, its president and chief executive officer since 1989.

Originally from Iowa, Richardson will be returning to his home state to serve as president and CEO of Burlington Medical Center in Burlington, Iowa. The Burlington facility includes a 400-bed hospital and nursing home system with a service area of about 100,000 people, according to a NCHS press release. A new hospital construction project is also being planned there.

Richardson said his resignation takes effect sometime in mid- to late April.

"I hadn't planned on moving," he said. "If you would have talked to me three months ago and asked me if I would be moving away from Bemidji, I would have said, 'Fat chance.'"

Richardson, however, said he was made an offer he couldn't refuse.

"It's a chance for me to grow and move to a bigger setting. It was a career move and something I couldn't turn down," he said. "However, (Bemidji) has been a wonderful opportunity; I have enjoyed myself immensely in my time here. I've never enjoyed working with a group of people as much as I have in Bemidji, and it will always hold a special place in my heart."

NCHS Board Chairman Kevin Cease said the board was informed Monday, and the replacement process has already begun. The board will be selecting a recruiting service to aid in the search for a permanent replacement, and the process is expected to take three to four months.

"It is bitter sweet to see him go. We're very sorry to see him leave, but we're happy for his personal career," he said. "He has served us so well, and his greatest strength was developing a sense of pride in the Health Service organization ... it's just so hard to capsulate 7 1/2 years of excellent service by somebody without sending melodramatic."

Many changes were implemented in the North Country Health Services corporation in the time he led the organization, Vice President of Development Pat Kelly said.

Richardson saw the hospital complete a $12 million expansion in 1994 and another $4 million expansion in January. He witnessed the medical staff by 10 doctors; the corporation's number of employees "significantly" increase to more than 750 people -- making it the second-largest employer in the area; the addition of angiography equipment, magnetic resonance imaging equipment, a dialysis unit in the hospital, a pediatric care area and an expanded emergency room area.

Kelly added major renovations were done to North Country Nursing and Rehabilitation Center and the hospital's laboratory and pharmacy were expanded in the latest renovation, during Richardson's time.

In addition to the 98-bed North Country Regional Hospital, which services about a 55,000 to 60,000 regional population, NCHS is comprised of North Country Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Baker Park Inc., Bemidji Medical Equipment, North Country Home Care and Hospice, Peak Performance Physical Therapy Center, North Country Health Services Foundation, Northern Medical Clinic-Bemidji, Northern Medical Clinic-Walker and Blackduck Clinic.

In retrospect, Richardson said he most enjoyed watching the hospital mature from a "good, community hospital" into a "regional health care center."

He said the future of the corporation looks healthy as it has three advantages to rely on: financial stability, no relative competition and a "really committed board of directors" -- the board of directors being the most important.

"We have a board of people absolutely committed to providing the best health care facilities to the people of Bemidji," Richardson said. "And I'm not just saying that because I'm leaving. This board is the best one I've worked with in four facilities."

Richardson, 38, and his wife, Melanie, have three sons, Mike, 10, Christopher, 7, and John, 4.

He also serves as president of the Joint Economic Development Commission, chairman of the Healthy Community Healthy Kids organization and as a board member of Northern National Bank and United Way of Bemidji Area. He is a past president of the Bemidji Area Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Bemidji Rotary Club.

"The Bemidji hospital, with the staff as good as they are and the board as committed as they are," Richardson said, "will be extremely successful no matter direction they take in the future."