Spencer Hospital Board Officially Appoints Tiefenthaler as Hospital President

posted on Thursday, August 24, 2023 in General

Long-time local healthcare leader Brenda Tiefenthaler has been officially named the next president and chief executive officer at Spencer Hospital, succeeding Bill Bumgarner who will retire later this year.

The Spencer Hospital Board of Trustees had voted earlier in the week to offer the position to Tiefenthaler, a healthcare leader with 23 years of experience at Spencer Hospital. At Thursday’s board meeting, Tiefenthaler formally accepted and the trustees unanimously voted to appoint her to the president position.

“I look forward to engaging our leadership team, medical staff, hospital co-workers and community partners to build on Spencer Hospital’s long history of ensuring comprehensive healthcare services for the community and region,” Tiefenthaler stated. “We have a great team of mission-focused professionals and I’m honored to be entrusted with this leadership position.”

Julie Christensen, Spencer Hospital Board Chair, commented, “We had excellent candidates with great credentials; however, Brenda’s leadership skills, knowledge of local healthcare and focus on exceptional patient care are qualifications which rose above the other candidates. We are so pleased that a thorough process and a national search provided us an opportunity to fully realize the strengths of the hospital’s internal candidate.” 

Tiefenthaler has served in a number of leadership roles at Spencer Hospital as she earned higher levels of responsibility over her career. As current Senior Vice President of Patient Care and Operations, Tiefenthaler said she looks forward to collaborating with Bumgarner and the leadership team to ensure a successful transition. Bumgarner’s official retirement day is Nov. 10.

“Our shared priority over the next couple of months will be to prepare for a seamless transition of responsibilities,” said Tiefenthaler.  “That will come easy for us given our work together over the past 14 years.”

Dr. Jason Keonin, president of the Spencer Hospital Medical Staff, added, “Through Brenda’s patient care leadership role, our physician team has worked closely with her over the years and appreciate her transparency, listening and communication skills, and most of all, her focus on excellence in patient care which aligns with our goals. In addition to myself, we had other physician representatives involved throughout the search and selection process and are in agreement Brenda is an outstanding choice to lead Spencer Hospital going forward.”

Bumgarner shared his support for his long-time co-worker.

“Brenda is as talented as any healthcare executive I’ve had the opportunity to work with in a career spanning 41 years,” he said.  “She is the right leader for Spencer Hospital at this time.  Brenda will bring energy, experience and integrity to her new responsibilities. She’ll effectively collaborate with everyone who contributes to the exceptional services offered by the whole of the Spencer medical community.”

In addition to Christensen and Keonin, search committee members included Trustee Bruce Nystrom; Board advisory members Neal Conover, John Cotton and Larry Harden; family physician Dr. Bruce Feldmann; orthopedic surgeon Dr. Jason Hough; family physician Dr. Amanda Young; and community representative Jill Davis. 

Tiefenthaler holds Masters degrees in both Healthcare Administration and Nursing from the University of Phoenix; a Bachelors Degree of Nursing from the University of Iowa; and an Associate of Nursing Degree from the College of St. Mary in Omaha.  Tiefenthaler grew up on a family farm in Fonda, Iowa.  Together, she and her husband Jeff have five children, seven grandchildren and reside in Spencer.