Boucot named a Top Rural Health CEO

KEYSER, WV – WVU Medicine Potomac Valley Hospital (PVH)  and WVU Medicine Garrett Regional Medical Center (GRMC) President and CEO Mark Boucot has been named a Top Rural Hospital CEO to Know by Becker’s Hospital Review, a leading healthcare publication, for the second year in a row.

The annual list recognized 80 rural hospital CEOs who have worked to ensure their communities have access to the best healthcare services possible. While rural hospitals across the country have faced closure in recent years, these leaders have developed a model for not only surviving but thriving.

Boucot has more than 30 years of healthcare experience and serves as president and CEO for both PVH, a critical access hospital located in Keyser, and GRMC, a 55-bed acute care hospital in Oakland, Maryland.

“Mark is a tireless advocate for rural and population health and has taken that passion and created meaningful systems of care at PVH and GRMC to serve those in need,” Albert L. Wright, Jr., president and CEO of the West Virginia University Health System, said. “We are proud to have him as part of our WVU Medicine family and congratulate him on this well-deserved honor.”

Boucot holds a master’s degree from the New Jersey Institute of Technology (2001), a Bachelor of Science degree in Organizational Management from Cabrini College (1997), the Fellow Certification from the American College of Healthcare Executives, and has a Certified Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt from the Juran Institute.

Under Boucot’s direction, PVH and GRMC have seen significant growth and change.

PVH improved emergency room wait times and added additional specialty services, including the opening of the WVU Cancer Institute of PVH in 2022. Rated a five-star facility by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in 2020, PVH also received designation as West Virginia’s Community Star for 2021.

Furthermore, PVH was the first critical access hospital in the West Virginia Health System to achieve acute stroke ready hospital certification through the Joint Commission and the American Heart Association, making it the third hospital in the state of West Virginia to achieve this designation. The hospital was also awarded the American College of Radiology gold seal of accreditation in computed tomography.

Under Boucot’s leadership, GRMC has received national recognition in safety and quality care, including designation as a Top 20 Rural and Community Hospital in the United States by the National Rural Health Association and the Chartis Center for Rural Health for 2022 and 2021. GRMC has also received recognition as a Top 100 Rural and Community Hospital for five consecutive years and awarded six consecutive “A” hospital safety grades by the LeapFrog Group. 

GRMC had no inpatient central line-associated blood stream infections in 2022, marking nine years since a patient experienced such an infection in the facility. The hospital also ended the past year with no inpatient catheter associated urinary tract infections, the sixth consecutive year without this type of infection. Further, the hospital has the state’s best hospital acquired condition score for 2022, which is an indicator for reducing preventable complications and assuring patient safety.

 Boucot attributes the success of both hospitals to “being able to work with an amazing medical staff and having a superb and caring hospital staff. Together, they work to create an encouraging and welcoming environment through frontline councils and have a dedicated commitment to patient safety and performance improvement.”

For more information on Potomac Valley Hospital, visit https://wvumedicine.org/potomac-valley-hospital/