FROM YOUR BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS | ANNUAL LETTER
Dear Community Members,
It has been an exciting and successful year at Lake Chelan Health (LCH) and as we close out 2025 and look forward to 2026, we’d like to share our accomplishments as well as some of our plans for 2026.
Our Specialty Care Clinic moved into its new location in July, and with the expansion came new specialty doctors, including Dr. Touloei in Dermatology, Dr. Sobba-Higley for Ear Nose and Throat, and Dr. Dahl in Orthopedics. Early this new year, we will be starting Cardiology with Dr. Gautam Nayak, Joel Rhyner PA, and Katie Bates, DNP, ARNP. More specialists are on their way and announcements will be coming soon for the new year!
It didn’t take us long to add new providers at the Express Care location in downtown Chelan. We welcome our new Pediatrician, Dr. Reynolds as well as several Primary Care Providers to expand our availability for these important services. By extending the Express Care Walk-In Clinic hours of operation, we hope to have same day appointments be the norm rather than the exception and provide you with regular appointments as your needs arise.
The inpatient care provided by our 24/7 hospitalist team with Drs. Kalliath, Coyne and Pappy are about to recognize their one-year anniversary. This program has received resounding compliments from our patients and has demonstrated the anticipated improvements to care and wait times. The hospitalists also brought a new program called Compass, which will bring our emergency department and inpatient care providers access to various tele-services, including cardiology, pulmonology/critical care, infectious disease and nephrology. With this new service and as our new specialists become busier, the hospitalists will give our community the opportunity to truly receive quality health care close to home.
In September, 
we broke ground on our new EMS building. After 50 years of service, we are excited to provide a permanent home for this award-winning team of professionals. This project is expected to be completed in the fall of 2026.
Early this new year, we will launch a new billing software that will enable patients to view and pay bills online or from their phones. You will be able to group your family members, view billing details, set up patient plans and more.
As a board, it is so much easier to plan strategically for our future when operational systems are working as they should. While we can always anticipate the healthcare industry will have its own unique financial and regulatory challenges, we are extremely proud of the significant financial and quality of care improvements that have been made over the past three years. These improvements have allowed us to finally act on a long-term goal of purchasing and implementing a new electronic medical records software system (EMR). We are finally financially and organizationally healthy enough to sustain both the cost and time associated with a changeover to this new EMR. We know that this will be a patient and employee satisfier to truly moving health care forward in our facility. The transition should begin in 2026 and be fully implemented by 2027.
The board would like to give a huge thanks to the executive leadership team for providing us with relevant, transparent, and timely information to help our decision making; to the entire staff and associates who provide excellent compassionate care to our patients; and to our community for having the trust and confidence to allow us to provide your health care needs when you need them.
We wish you and your family a happy and healthy New Year!
Your Board of Commissioners, Lake Chelan Health
Jordana LaPorte, Chair
Lori Withrow, Vice Chair
Mary Murphy, Secretary
Doug Gibson, Member
Len England, Member