CEO: Growing the Next Generation
July 16, 2025
(Published as a Letter to the Editor in The Carrollton Democrat)
By Scott Thoreson, Carroll County Memorial Hospital Chief Executive Officer
Carroll County Memorial Hospital (CCMH) has a history and tradition of educating future health care personnel by offering clinical experiences. We have agreements with a variety of post-secondary institutions such as State Fair Community College, University of Missouri, University of Missouri – Kansas City (UMKC) and Missouri Valley College to name a few. Students from these particular programs tend to study Radiology, Physical Therapy, Medicine and Nursing.
Hospitals in general, and rural hospitals in particular, struggle to attract and retain employees due to the geography that is served in addition to the amenities that are prevalent, or absent, from the community. During my career in the Midwest, several times I heard from spouses of physicians that we were trying to recruit, that having a Starbucks or Target in their community was critical to their decision-making process. There are also fewer resources in rural hospitals, such as a daily supply of on-site specialists that are available for immediate consultation. Rural hospitals might also have a lack of specialized equipment or personnel to operate it 24 hours a day.
We have recently “doubled-down” on our plans to continue our relationship with clinical education and starting this summer have remodeled our existing student house and just completed renovation of the previous optometry clinic across the street from the hospital’s main entrance. We benefited from the students of the construction class at the Carrollton Area Career Center (CACC) as they, under the supervision of their instructor, David Dewey, gave the interior of the house on 14th Street a makeover. New appliances and furnishings are in place and up to 3 students have separate bedrooms to stay in during their clinical programs.
The optometry clinic was recently renovated and equipped with the assistance of a grant that we received via UMKC as we partner with them in the education of medical students through their longitudinal clerkship program. Dr. Pam Ralls is our main contact with this program, along with Dr. Andy Horine. The program wouldn’t be successful without the participation of all of our physicians and providers at CCMH, including visiting specialists. The optometry clinic site also has three individual bedrooms with their own bathrooms and showers. The building also has an open area for meetings and studying along with a very special piece of equipment, an Anatomage Table, which is a 3-D table that includes the scanned images of 5 cadavers. This was a piece of equipment that Amanda Placke, Health Occupations Instructor at CACC, has been seeking and now that equipment will also be available for use by her students. The next nearest Anatomage Table is in Sedalia.
As many of us older people can recall, students don’t have much money and CCMH does not charge rent for the students that stay in the student housing. We also offer assistance with meal costs from our 4 Corners Cafe. We view these as incentives to attract students to our location.
We know that Carroll County and our immediate service area have young people that have an interest in a healthcare profession, and we are working hard to help them learn and hopefully bring them back to care for our area residents.
On Tuesday, August 5, there will be Open House celebrations at the original student house located at 5 E. 14th Street, as well as the new student center across from the street from the hospital main entrance and north of McCoy Samples Mattingly Dental Clinic. The Open Houses will run from 4-6 p.m. at both locations, with the ribbon cutting of the newest student center to take place at 5 p.m. Come out to enjoy the new settings and experience the fascinating technology of the Anatomage Table. Refreshments will also be served.
More in this Series:
CEO: National Hospital Week 2025 (Published May 14, 2025)
https://www.carrollcountyhospital.org/news/ceo-national-hospital-week-2025
CEO: Advance Directives (Published April 14, 2025)
https://www.carrollcountyhospital.org/news/ceo-advance-directives
CEO: Health Insurance Decision Time (Published September 25, 2024)
https://www.carrollcountyhospital.org/news/ceo-health-insurance-decision-time
CEO: Hospital Week 2024 (Published May 13, 2024)
https://www.carrollcountyhospital.org/news/ceo-hospital-week-2024
CEO: Community Health Needs Initial Assessment (Published April 24, 2024)
https://www.carrollcountyhospital.org/news/ceo-community-health-needs-initial-assessment
CEO: Cybersecurity (Published February 14, 2024)
https://www.carrollcountyhospital.org/news/ceo-cybersecurity
CEO: End of Year Reflections (Published December 29, 2023)
https://www.carrollcountyhospital.org/news/ceo-end-of-the-year-reflections
CEO: Coding Matters (Published November 22, 2023)
https://www.carrollcountyhospital.org/news/ceo-coding-matters
CEO: Maternity Care Desert (Published October 25, 2023)
https://www.carrollcountyhospital.org/news/ceo-maternity-care-desert
CEO: Rural Emergency Hospitals (Published September 20, 2023)
https://www.carrollcountyhospital.org/news/ceo-rural-emergency-hospitals
CEO: Primary Care Provider (Published August 23, 2023)
https://www.carrollcountyhospital.org/news/ceo-primary-care-provider
CEO: Supply Shortages (Published June 28, 2023)
https://www.carrollcountyhospital.org/news/ceo-supply-shortages
CEO: CCMH Named Top 20 Critical Access Hospital (Published June 14, 2023)
https://www.carrollcountyhospital.org/news/ceo-ccmh-named-top-20-critical-access-hospital
CEO: Hospital Week 2023 (Published May 3, 2023)
https://www.carrollcountyhospital.org/news/ceo-hospital-week-2023
CEO: Prior Authorizations (Published April 5, 2023)
https://www.carrollcountyhospital.org/news/ceo-prior-authorizations
CEO: Staff Shortage and Open Positions (Published February 8, 2023)
https://www.carrollcountyhospital.org/news/ceo-staff-shortage-and-open-positions
CEO: End of Year 2022 (Published December 14, 2022)
https://www.carrollcountyhospital.org/news/ceo-end-of-2022
CEO: Purpose of the Foundation (Published November 10, 2022)
https://www.carrollcountyhospital.org/news/purpose-of-the-foundation
CEO: Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (Published September 28, 2022)
https://www.carrollcountyhospital.org/news/ceo-health-insurance-portability-and-accountability-act
CEO: CCMH Providers (Published August 24, 2022)
https://www.carrollcountyhospital.org/news/ceo-ccmh-providers
CEO: Financial Assistance (Published July 20, 2022)
https://www.carrollcountyhospital.org/news/ceo-financial-assistance
CEO: Social Determinants of Health (Published June 29, 2022)
https://www.carrollcountyhospital.org/news/ceo-social-determinants-of-health
CEO: National Hospital Week (Published May 11, 2022)
https://www.carrollcountyhospital.org/news/ceo-national-hospital-week
CEO: Why Healthcare is Expensive (Published May 4, 2022)
https://www.carrollcountyhospital.org/news/ceo-why-healthcare-is-expensive
CEO: A Hospital is Still a Business (Published March 16, 2022)
https://www.carrollcountyhospital.org/news/ceo-a-hospital-is-still-a-business
CEO: Different Types of Hospital Ownership (Published February 1, 2022)
https://www.carrollcountyhospital.org/news/ceo-different-types-of-hospital-ownership
CEO: Holiday Message (Published December 20, 2021)
https://www.carrollcountyhospital.org/news/ceo-holiday-message