Leadership
Senior Management Team
Chief Nursing Officer
Lisa Eberhardt, RN, BSN, CNOR joined CFVH in 2016 after working as the Director of Nursing for the Surgical Services Department at St. John’s Pleasant Valley Hospital in Moorpark, California .
Born in La Grange, Illinois, Lisa moved several times with her family as a child until they finally landed in Westlake, CA, just North of Los Angeles. She graduated from La Reina High School and went on to study pre-med at California State University Northridge. Her parents hoped she would be a doctor one day, but she realized later she didn’t share the same dream and changed her course of study to nursing. During one of her rotations through the OR, she felt the most at home and knew that was where she wanted to end up.
Lisa married during college and moved to Moorpark, California where she completed her degree and became an RN. She raised her two children there and remarried a few years later to her now husband, Steve. Together, they have three children.
Her husband is a freelance artist and two of her children work in the entertainment industry, one in LA as a producer and the other in Maine as a concept scenic designer. Her youngest works for the Houston Astros in marketing.
When asked about her experience in the healthcare field, Lisa answered, "I was incredibly lucky to be hired into an OR internship program right out of nursing school. I worked for Northridge Hospital, a trauma center, in the OR for 13 years. I worked as OR Staff and OR Manager during that time as well. When I went back to finish my BSN, I was offered a job as a director of nursing for surgery and emergency services by my leadership preceptor. I oversaw 9 units at Mission Community for 5 years and made the decision to work closer to home. I joined the St John’s Pleasant Valley team as a director of Surgery and Hyperbaric in 2001. Concurrently I worked weekends as a nurse in the OR at another trauma hospital, Providence Holy Cross. I retired from there in October of 2015 after 15 years of weekends."
Add it all up and she has spent over 31 years in an OR setting...just where she wanted to be.
In her position here at the CFVH, Lisa hopes to "provide support and guidance to the team here as they continue the wonderful work they are doing to care for the community."
"I love working in small hospitals. I think the healthcare world underestimates the complexities of providing care in a small hospital, yet we have such wonderful highly skilled staff whose flexibility amazes me and makes me proud," she shared. "In a smaller hospital we all have to wear so many hats, yet the pride and sense of teamwork and family really shows through in all we do. I like being a part of that."
Lisa is currently working towards her MBA in Healthcare Management and has a national certification in operating room care, CNOR.
In her spare time, she likes to garden, craft and crochet. She loves puzzles and spending time with her husband, exploring new areas together and learning about local culture.
Director of Human and System Resources
Barry Fowler, resident of Plains, lives with his wife, Carol, and has one daughter, Lauren.
Fowler joined the Clark Fork Valley Hospital Team in July 2002. He currently holds the position of Director of Human and System Resources, which designates many responsibilities. He oversees Human Resources, Environmental Services (Housekeeping & Laundry), and Plant Services (Maintenance & Transportation). Additionally, Fowler serves as the Executive Director of the Clark Fork Valley Foundation, a corporation that raises funds to support the hospital and its related entities. Furthermore, Fowler is the hospital’s Compliance Officer and Public Information Officer. In his role as Compliance Officer, Fowler oversees the efforts the hospital makes to follow the rules and policies set by the different payers as well as by the hospital itself. As Public Information Officer, Fowler keeps the public informed, as he acts as the spokesman of the hospital.
Hobbies and Interests
- Golf
- Reading
- Spending time with family and friends
A Career in Healthcare
I really enjoy the parts of my work that allow me to work with people. The Foundation allows me to present opportunities to members of our community and beyond where they can invest in the good work of making our community healthier.
Inspiration
I try to treat people as I would like to be treated.
President/CEO
Dr. Gregory Hanson served on the Governing Board as Chairman until April 2008 when he accepted the role of President/CEO of Clark Fork Valley Hospital.
In a brief interview with Dr. Hanson, he expressed his enjoyment of working with the other board members and maintaining an emphasis on continuing the Clark Fork Valley Hospital commitment to providing the best quality of care and services to Sanders County residents.
Dr. Hanson practiced as a Family Medicine provider for Thompson Falls Family Medicine for over 13 years in addition to serving the hospital as one of it's Obstetrics providers. His areas of interests include pediatrics, geriatrics and chronic pain.
Dr. Hanson has continued his Obstetrics practice at CFVH and also works in the Emergency Department as Hospitalist as needed.
Dr. Hanson resides in Plains with his wife, Janice. They have three children, two daughters and one son, Ashley, Jessica and Jim.
Chief Financial Officer
Carla Neiman, resident of Camas Prairie, lives with her husband, Dale, who works for the USDA Farm Service Agency in Plains and Ronan. She has one daughter, Audrey, and one son, Bob. Audrey is an elementary teacher in Oregon, and Bob also teaches at Hot Springs High School.
Neiman is a graduate of Montana State University, Bozeman, where she received a bachelor's degree in business finance. She later earned her master's degree in healthcare administration from the University of Minnesota while working full time at Clark Fork Valley Hospital. She is an active member of the Montana Hospital Association and the Healthcare Financial Management Association. She additionally serves as a board member of the Monida Healthcare Network and Montana Community Development Corporation. She is currently Chairman of the Montana State Board of Nursing Home Administrators.
Neiman joined the Clark Fork Valley Hospital Team in October 1994 after she served on the hospital board from 1985 through 1994. She currently holds the position of CFO, which designates many responsibilities. She oversees all of the hospital's financial operations, patient access, health information, information systems, risk management and insurance.
Hobbies and Interests
- Family farm/ranch operation
- Following her son's basketball teams
- Travel
- Snorkeling
- Boating
- Entertaining family and friends at her Trout Creek cabin
A Career in Healthcare
I served on the hospital Governing Board for eight years and through that work, I gained an excellent perspective on the hospital's mission while helping to craft a vision for the future. When I had the opportunity to pursue a career at Clark Fork Valley Hospital, I found it an ideal way to combine my interest in finance with managing a mission-driven business—one with a higher purpose than just being financially successful.
Inspiration
"If you find it in your heart to care for somebody else, you will have succeeded." —Maya Angelou
Director of Ambulatory Practices and Ancillary Patient Services
Jeanie Gentry, resident of Plains, joined CFVH in May 2023. Gentry has a vast amount of experience in Healthcare. She feels like rural/frontier medicine is a specialty that has many unique strengths and needs that you don't find in larger hospitals. Gentry has tried to learn a lot about how smaller hospitals can thrive and enjoys contributing to the overall health and wellbeing for each organization she joins.
Gentry grew up in Mesa, AZ and obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree in Human Resource (HR) Development. After graduating, she put her HR degree to good use in the manufacturing industry for over 10 years.
Wanting to live nearer to great fly-fishing, she moved to Troy, MT. There, she accepted a position at St. John's Lutheran Hospital in Libby, MT. This is where she fell in love with healthcare. During her time in Libby, she received her Masters of Healthcare Administration (MHA) degree from Montana State University while serving as the Vice President of Allied Health Services for the hospital. And if her life wasn't full enough, her family grew at this time to include triplets, 2 sons and a daughter.
Gentry left Montana in 2011 and served as CEO for several Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) in Oregon, Idaho and most recently Colorado.
She received additional certifications throughout her career including a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE). A FACHE certification is like a Board Certification for physicians, but specially geared to knowledge and abilities of an Administrator. Gentry is also a Senior Professional of Human Resources (SPHR) through the Society for Human Resource Management.
Hobbies and Interests
- Fly Fishing
- Playing Piano
- Singing
Governing Board
Board Chairperson, Plains
Erin McCarthy, CFVH board member since October 2010, transitioned into the Board Chairperson role in 2022. She graduated from Plains High School in 1981 and returned to Plains to live with her family in 2007. She has two grown children, Nick and Zoe.
McCarthy works as a System Consultant for Billings Clinic, telecommuting to provide software support to eight small hospitals the clinic supports.
Having worked in healthcare for many years, she felt that serving on the CFVH Governing Board would be a good way to contribute to the community. "I believe Critical Access Hospitals like CFVH provide a vital service to a rural community," she says.
She loves living back in Sanders County and in her spare time enjoys hiking, backpacking and spending time with family.
Vice Chairperson, Plains
Erika Lawyer has lived in Sanders County most of her life, with the exception of going to school at the U of M. There she received her bachelor's degree in business administration. After a brief stint working in a bank, some retail and at the hospital, she has settled in at McGowan Grocery, where she currently manages the office and does financial statements for three to four businesses. Lawyer enjoys downhill skiing, reading, scrapbooking, jogging and traveling. She has two sons, Wyatt and Jake, and one daughter, Ava.
Lawyer wanted to serve on the Clark Fork Valley Hospital Governing Board because she was excited about all the positive change and growth the hospital has been experiencing over the last few years. She says, "I am so grateful that we have a quality facility with top-notch providers, nursing staff and support staff. It’s been such a great learning experience, and I feel honored to serve with such smart, capable, experienced and quality individuals who care so much about their communities."
President/CEO
Dr. Gregory Hanson served on the Governing Board as Chairman until April 2008 when he accepted the role of President/CEO of Clark Fork Valley Hospital.
In a brief interview with Dr. Hanson, he expressed his enjoyment of working with the other board members and maintaining an emphasis on continuing the Clark Fork Valley Hospital commitment to providing the best quality of care and services to Sanders County residents.
Dr. Hanson practiced as a Family Medicine provider for Thompson Falls Family Medicine for over 13 years in addition to serving the hospital as one of it's Obstetrics providers. His areas of interests include pediatrics, geriatrics and chronic pain.
Dr. Hanson has continued his Obstetrics practice at CFVH and also works in the Emergency Department as Hospitalist as needed.
Dr. Hanson resides in Plains with his wife, Janice. They have three children, two daughters and one son, Ashley, Jessica and Jim.
Medical Staff Representative
Richard Ingle, MD began serving as Medical Staff Representative in January 2023
Thompson Falls
Mike Baxter joined the hospital board in 2016 and served as the Board Chairperson from 2017-2021. He resides in Thompson Falls with his family where he works for First Security Bank. His background is in Finance, Banking and Law. He enjoys spending time with family in the great outdoors.
Thompson Falls
Bina Eggensperger is a long-time trustee at Clark Fork Valley Hospital. She served several terms as board chair. Eggensperger also served as a board member for the Montana Hospital Association for many years. She recently stepped down as the Montana representative to the Western Regional Trustee Symposium, which is a multi-state group working together to provide a healthcare trustee education event each year. She served as the chair of the Committee on Governance for the American Hospital Association and also the AHA Leadership Development Committee. Eggensperger and her husband owned and operated The Sanders County Ledger in Thompson Falls for over 30 years. They enjoy the outdoor experiences Sanders County offers and have a small vineyard at their home in Thompson Falls.
Missoula, MT
James Gillhouse joins the CFVH Governing Board as an Associate Administrator for Community Medical Center in Missoula, MT.
Hot Springs
Other than when she attended college, Ginny Holland has resided in the Hot Springs/Camas Prairie area for most of her life. She earned her associate’s degree in accounting from the University of Montana–College of Technology and her bachelor’s degree in business – Accounting from Montana State University Billings.
Holland has worked as the Business Manager and Clerk of the Board the past 17 years for the Plains School District. Before that, she held the same position in Hot Springs for 11 years. When asked why she recently joined the CFVH Governing Board, Holland answered, "Now that my children are grown and living their own lives, I feel it is time to take my turn and volunteer in the community. I truly believe in the importance of having quality, affordable healthcare available in our communities, and I am excited to have an opportunity to learn and contribute to such a valuable organization." She also added, "I hope my education and work experience in accounting and grant funding will be helpful to my position on the board. I have been a school business manager and clerk of the board for the past 28 years; therefore, I feel I have a good understanding of the role of a board member."
Holland and her husband, Jim, Plains Schools Elementary Principal, reside on the Holland Family Ranch in beautiful Camas Prairie. They have three sons: Nate, Ben and Jimmy. Relatively new to the "empty nest" life, Holland shared, "I am working on discovering my own interests and hobbies after chasing kids and following them to all their various sporting events for the past 25 years. I currently enjoy all kinds of exercise and have even run a few half-marathons. I enjoy kayaking on our beautiful rivers and lakes around Western Montana, reading, traveling, spending time with family, and attending Griz football games."
Holland additionally volunteers for the Camas Prairie Neighbors and was previously involved with both the Hot Springs and Plains Schools, along with their community youth baseball programs.
Polson, MT
Devin Huntley was born and raised in Missoula and graduated from Hellgate High School. He attended the University of Arizona on an ROTC scholarship and graduated with a bachelor's degree in Hospital Administration. After graduating from the University of Arizona, Huntley received his commission in the military and moved overseas. He started off as a platoon leader in the Mechanized Infantry and ended his military career as an aide-de-camp at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. After leaving the Army, Huntley went back to the University of Arizona and earned an MBA in hospital administration.
After his MBA, Huntley worked for one of the Big 5 consulting firms (Deloitte and Touche, healthcare consulting focused on process redesign and system implementation). After three years as a consultant, the travel began to wear him down and he started to look for a more stable position in a hospital. In 2003, he found the perfect job in Missoula at Community Medical Center (CMC).
The Clark Fork Valley Hospital board member from CMC was the CEO. By happenstance, Huntley filled in at a couple of board meetings at CFVH for the CEO when he was not able to attend. He was intrigued by the dynamics of CFVH at the time: a departing CEO, major renovation in progress, critical access hospital in a small town, unbelievably dedicated and hard working physician staff, very attractive environment, etc. He also really enjoyed the drive to Plains from Missoula. "It was great "thinking time," and I don’t think you can find many more beautiful 70-mile work-related road trips in the United States," he says. After attending his second board meeting, Huntley asked the CEO if he could attend regularly in the CEO's place, and his request was granted.
Huntley has since taken the role of Chief Operating Officer at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Polson, MT.
"While there are a multitude of issues facing hospitals across America right now, if I had to pick the biggest challenge facing hospitals in years to come, I would say "Financing the Mission"—in other words, achieving the healthcare mission while maintaining a viable financial margin. We are very fortunate in Western Montana, as I think we have been somewhat sheltered from the economic and political forces that are directly impacting hospitals across much of the United States, but it’s catching up with us. Depending on the outcome of the upcoming elections, we may see significant change in a few short years.
"I met my wife in the Army while at Airborne School at Fort Benning, Georgia. She was a first lieutenant at the time and outranked me. When we exited the active-duty military, she was a captain and I was a first lieutenant. I quickly joined the Army Reserves and stayed in for three extra years until I was promoted to captain because I didn’t want to be outranked by my wife for the rest of my life. Turns out that it didn’t matter; she’s still the boss!"