Meet Aaron Edwards, CEO of Lake Chelan Health

As the CEO of Lake Chelan Health, Aaron Edwards brings a deep passion for rural healthcare, a collaborative leadership style, and a forward-thinking mindset to his role. 

A lifelong Washingtonian, Edwards' path to hospital leadership wasn’t conventional—starting in advertising before shifting to healthcare administration and eventually rising through the ranks in some of the state’s most remote communities. 

Since taking the helm in 2022, he’s overseen key milestones at Lake Chelan Health, including the opening of a new hospital and expansion of services to better meet the community’s needs. In this Q&A, Edwards reflects on his journey, the challenges and opportunities facing rural hospitals, and his vision for the future of healthcare in the Lake Chelan Valley.

Please tell our readers a little bit about yourself.

I’m a lifelong Washington native, grew up in Seattle and left for undergrad at WSU Pullman, I haven’t left Eastern Washington since, living four years in Pullman, seventeen in Spokane, six in Republic, and now just over three years here in Chelan. I enjoy spending time with my wife, Suzanne, and my six-year-old daughter Olivia (also known as Squeaks). When I’m not here at work I am probably out golfing, walking the dogs, or doing some yard work on the tractor, or camping.   

Can you share a bit about your professional journey and what led you to become CEO of Lake Chelan Health?

I have, I believe, a unique background which led me to my current role. I started my career in advertising sales at KXLY TV in Spokane and held various sales jobs through graduate school at WSU Spokane where I got my master’s in healthcare policy and administration. While at WSU I interned in compliance at Cancer Care Northwest, spent a summer interning for the CEO of Ferry County Health, then interned with the CEO at Lincoln Hospital and Clinics which helped me to discover rural health was what I wanted to do. Shortly after the board of Ferry County Health invited me to apply for their open CEO job which I was appointed to in June of 2016. There my team and I worked hard and dramatically turned the hospital finances around for the better. After six years of service there I applied for the role here and was appointed as Lake Chelan Health’s CEO in April of 2022.  

How would you describe your leadership style? What values guide you in your role as CEO?

I believe in shared leadership and decision making. This business is far too complicated to have all the answers. Building a strong team around you is paramount to success. I value honesty, humility, and an entrepreneurial spirit that never says “we’ve always done it this way” and is open to the acceptance of a rapidly changing healthcare landscape.

What’s one lesson you’ve learned in your career that you think every executive should understand?

You don’t have all the answers. It’s okay to say, “I don’t know.” I’ve learned to pick up the phone and call my peers around the state when I’m uncertain. Having a sense of humor and the ability to connect with your teammates and community is also critical. Being able to communicate and work with others is far more valuable than having all the answers.  

What makes Lake Chelan Health unique compared to other rural hospitals in the state?

Lake Chelan Health is a Washington Public Hospital District. Meaning it is an independent community hospital governed by five elected board members who come from within our district boundaries.  We are fortunate to have a talented and committed group of board members with a wide variety of backgrounds led by board chair Jordana LaPorte. We are a not-for-profit which gives us the opportunity to uniquely serve the community without answering to corporate shareholders. This allows us to do our best to meet the needs of the community as much as finances and our pool of talent allows. Also, we are one of very few rural hospitals that are working out of a brand-new facility with new equipment which is helpful for both staff and patients.

What are some recent accomplishments or milestones that you and your team are most proud of?

First the opening of the new hospital on Apple Blossom. Second, steady increase of new services offered to the community with the most recent being dermatology, cardiac rehab, and ear nose and throat (ENT), pediatrics on the way this fall with more to come.  We’ve returned to offering primary care at our downtown Chelan clinic. We’ve increased our gross revenue and have achieved a reasonable bottom line the past two years which has been a challenge here in Chelan in years prior (need to see continued growth which is becoming more and more challenging). Our customer service surveys are far past industry standards (measured by a third party) which shows the dedication and talent of our team here.     

How do you see the hospital’s role in supporting the overall health and well-being of the Lake Chelan Valley?

We use our community needs assessment, which is a survey of our community done every three years to see what the unmet needs are and then make an action plan to meet the ones we think are within reach. The survey is found on the main page of our website lakechelanhealth.org. Please help us out by taking the survey.  

What are your short-term and long-term goals for the hospital and clinic system?

Short-term goals are, first and foremost, add relevant new services that the community needs and can support, and to continuously improve what we currently do here at Lake Chelan Health. Continue to stabilize and grow our finances, and get our culture to a place where we are a highly sought after place of employment.  We are also just months away from opening a new specialty clinic across the street from the new hospital.  It will house orthopedics, general surgery, ENT, dermatology, podiatry, with more services to come.  

Probably the most important long-term goal is to transition to electronic medical records system used by larger systems around us to make care transitions are as smooth as possible for patients and caregivers. We are also in the process of building a new facility for our emergency medical services team which was mostly funded by Representative Mike Steele through his work with the capital budget in the legislature. We expect the new facility to be open in late 2026.

What are some of the biggest challenges facing rural hospitals like yours, and how are you addressing them?

First, finding talent to meet the needs of the community. There are workforce shortages all over our industry and while we’ve done well with staffing, we still struggle. We’ve added, and will continue to add, additional short term staff housing so we can attract talent from all over the country. We are doing our best to pay competitively which has been a challenge in years past. Second, the current political landscape both at the state and federal level is very challenging. We’re feeling caught in the middle in many ways and are expecting reductions in payment for government payers (Medicaid especially) as expenses continue to skyrocket. We are in close contact with our legislators and have appreciated their support.  

How is the hospital adapting to changes in healthcare technology and patient care delivery?

First and foremost, having brand new facilities has helped us in many ways (new imaging equipment that can be upgraded with new software as technology changes to name just one). We are working on bringing tele-specialty services for our emergency room providers and hospitalists so they will be able to keep more of our patients local and get support quickly. The first services will be pulmonology, cardiology, infectious diseases, and nephrology. As I mentioned above, we need to move to a more powerful electronic medical record to optimize patient care.  

Who or what inspires you?

I really can’t put into words how meaningful this work is to me. It’s extremely challenging and stressful, but when problems are solved and we make progress it can mean a great deal to the community and our staff. For me that is highly motivating and inspiring and keeps me coming to work. At home it’s raising our daughter Olivia with my wife Suzanne, they both mean the world to me and bring indescribable joy!