Longtime Winneshiek Medical Center Board of Trustees member, Roger Huinker, attended his final meeting on Wednesday, May 4, 2022.
Huinker joined the Board in 2005, just as WMC signed the Management Services Agreement and Professional Services Agreement with Mayo Clinic Health System. He says, “One of the most interesting transitions in the early years of being on the board was adapting to our new affiliation with Mayo Clinic Health System.” Over the years, Huinker has seen net patient revenues grow from $31 million in 2006 to nearly $68 million currently. Additionally, the workforce has grown from 380 employees in 2006 to nearly 480 employees in 2022. “As a board member, I saw WMC becoming more of a regional medical center that is providing excellent care through our partnering with our own staff and Mayo Clinic Health System,” he says.
Winneshiek Medical Center is owned by the citizens of Winneshiek County and is governed by an elected Board of Trustees. Seven members serve on the board and elections are held every four years with staggering terms. In addition to Huinker, who currently serves as Secretary/Treasurer of the Board, members include: Clark Goltz, Chair; Karen McLean, Vice-Chair; Steve Hildebrandt, Karl Jacobsen, Tim Schweizer and Lora Friest.
Clark Goltz, chair, says, “Roger Huinker is one of those individuals who has made a real positive difference in his role as a member of Winneshiek Medical Center’s Board of Trustees. His seventeen years of dedicated service speak to his commitment to not only the hospital, but to his efforts to make this part of the world a better place to live. Martin Luther King said, ‘Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: what are you doing for others?’ We are grateful that Roger answered that question through his work as a member of the WMC Board of Trustees.”
To complete Huinker’s term, which expires in December of 2022, the Board has appointed Justin Gullekson. Gullekson is a long-time Winneshiek County resident and is the Decorah Market President for Decorah Bank & Trust Company. He and his wife, Jeanne, have five children.
Gullekson has a history of service to our region. He currently serves as Treasurer of the WMC Foundation Board and on the Board of Directors for the Decorah Community Free Clinic. His past volunteer experience includes President of the WMC Foundation, Vesterheim Museum Board of Directors, and co-chairperson of Decorah High School’s successful bond issue campaign. He says, “Our family makes an effort to help out with various community endeavors, and I’m happy to be asked to serve with the medical center.” He adds, “I hope that my financial background and knowledge will be useful to WMC. I look forward to working with the great folks on the Board of Trustees and at WMC. Roger will be a tough act to follow.”
The slot opened up by Huinker and temporarily filled by Gullekson will be on the ballot in November 2022.
