Sawtooth Mountain Clinic to begin strategic planning process

The Sawtooth Mountain Clinic Board will begin the strategic planning process in the coming months.

The clinic undergoes the process every three years. The last strategic process was completed in 2022.

Since then, Sawtooth Mountain Clinic CEO Kate Surbaugh said, “A lot of things have changed in healthcare.”

“So this is a really good time for the board to get together and look at that,” she said.

Surbaugh said the strategic planning priorities moving into 2025 are technology, particularly exploring the transition to electronic health records, preventative care, staffing, and addressing community needs in a post-pandemic era.

Surbaugh said that the Sawtooth Mountain Clinic Board will attend a February board retreat and hire a professional facilitator to help with the process. “We’re working on those plans right now to make sure that facilitated time is used as best as it can be.”

In other clinic news, Surbaugh is keeping an eye on the upcoming Minnesota legislative session and the new presidential administration taking office in 2025. On the state level, Sawtooth Mountain Clinic works with the Minnesota Association of Community Health Centers to advocate and talk to legislators about community health initiatives and funding.

“I think one of the main focuses that we’re going to have is looking at the dollars that we are eligible to receive from the Minnesota Department of Health,” Surbaugh said. “They have been very flat for several years.”

“So I think that will be one of the main focuses here at the state legislature this year,” she said.

WTIP’s Kalli Hawkins spoke with Sawtooth Mountain Clinic CEO Kate Surbaugh about the strategic planning process, upcoming legislative session, national healthcare and health insurance issues, clinic services, and more. The audio from the interview is below.

Kalli Hawkins December 26, 2024