2015 Leaders in Health Care Awards: Outstanding Health Care Executive, Outside Puget Sound Region

WINNER

Elaine Couture

Regional Chief Executive, Providence Health Care, Spokane

A key piece of elaine coutures career in health care has been her persistent focus on change. As regional CEO of Providence Health Care in Spokane, Couture is leading her organizations four hospitals and 6,800 employees through big transitions. Chief executive since 2012, Couture sees many opportunities to serve Providences constituencies in eastern Washington and the inland Northwest by providing services more efficiently and at lower cost, often by using services outside traditional hospitals.

Providence has opened three urgent care facilities and, last year, launched an ambulatory care center, the first in the region. The urgent care units have seen more than 70,000 people. This approach helps to keep hospital emergency departments available to give care to those who really need it, Couture says.

This culture shift has Providence Health Care operating in a collaborative and results-driven environment, say those who nominated Couture. This is a critical and complex time in health care and Elaine has created a strong, progressive vision of the future, they add.

Couture says change has been challenging, tough and hard, but that the organization is making headway. We continue to grow jobs, she notes. They just wont necessarily be inside the four walls of a hospital.