The chief executive officer of The HealthCenter, Tate Kreitinger, is stepping down after 15 years running the medical facility.

Craig Lambrecht, chief executive officer of Kalispell Regional Healthcare, announced Kreitinger’s resignation in an email to Kalispell Regional staff on Jan. 17.

“This morning Tate Kreitinger informed me of his decision to leave KRH to pursue new opportunities. While I have only known Tate for less than a year, his discussions with me have been heartfelt and Tate’s commitment to HealthCenter was obvious to all who knew him,” Lambrecht wrote.

In early November, Kalispell Regional reached an agreement to take on full ownership of The HealthCenter. The HealthCenter had been a partnership with Kalispell Regional and Flathead Physician Group since it opened in 2003.

The facility provides inpatient and outpatient services including surgery, rehabilitation, imaging, digestive health and women’s health, and is attached to the north end of Kalispell Regional Medical Center.

Lambrecht wrote Kreitinger “worked tirelessly alongside physician leaders and administration to bring the HealthCenter purchase to a successful conclusion. I would like to thank Tate for his perspective and can-do attitude in that effort.”

Kreitinger said in the email to staff “it is the people and the relationships that made the biggest impact for me” over his 15 years there.

“I have learned from all of you and we have accomplished a lot. I have decided to look at other opportunities within and outside of health care and am excited to begin the next transition in my career. I am excited for the future of KRH and know that the leadership talent in the organization will continue to do great things,” he continued.

According to Kalispell Regional’s email, Ty Weber and Heidi Sturm “will assume responsibility for HealthCenter operations during the transition.” Weber is director of imaging services at Kalispell Regional and Sturm is the executive director of nursing at The HealthCenter.

Kreitinger acted as compliance officer for Kalispell Regional after it entered into a corporate integrity agreement following its $24 million settlement with the federal government in September 2018. The hospital was later fined $65,000 based on a failure to meet board member training requirements and a “false certification” of those requirements while Kreitinger was the acting officer, according to the Office of Inspector General.

“Mr. Kreitinger, KRHS’s Compliance Officer at the time of the submission of the report, falsely certified to the best of his knowledge that KRHS was in compliance with all the requirements of the CIA, an Aug. 28, 2019, letter from the Office of Inspector General stated. “The report included a statement misrepresenting that the board members who were unable to attend a Nov. 15, 2018, training session all received the required training prior to the end of the 90-day compliance period, even though the training had not occurred.”

Kalispell Regional self-reported the compliance failure on July 15, after Michael Onusko had taken over as system compliance officer.

Reporter Colin Gaiser may be reached at [email protected] or 758-4439