Larry R. Dursteler has been named chief operating officer at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center.
Dursteler succeeds Keith Tintle, who left Utah Valley for a position with LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City.Dursteler spent six years in administration at Logan Regional Hospital, also an Intermountain Health Care facility, in Cache County. He began as chief financial officer there in 1982; in 1984 he was named associate administrator and chief operating officer, serving in that capacity until coming to Utah Valley.
Dursteler's responsibilities at the Logan hospital primarily consisted of overseeing all day-to-day operations of the hospital, from nursing to housekeeping. His duties at Utah Valley will be similar.
"This is an exciting promotion and opportunity to work in a larger hospital that carries a reputation in IHC as being one of its best-managed hospitals and as one of the most progressive hospitals in the western United States," Dursteler said.
Dursteler said accomplishments at Logan included expansion of services such as dialysis and chemical dependency treatment, establishment of an outpatient surgical center and construction of a physicians' medical office building, and successfully dealing with a reduction in patient volume without compromising services or jobs.
"As with all hospitals in the state of Utah and largely in the country, Logan experienced a substantial reduction in number of patients between 1982 and 1986," Dursteler said. "Logan was able to adapt to that 25 percent reduction without having to lay anyone off."
Dursteler said UVRMC is approximately four times larger than Logan, and that the biggest difference between the two hospitals is the secondary and tertiary care available at UVRMC.
"The tasks are similar," Dursteler said. "The underlying objective is to provide high-quality care for patients. That direction or effort does not change. We are here to be available for people in the community when they need us."
Dursteler said his immediate goal will be to build upon the strong foundation laid by his predecessor. He said among the issues UVRMC will face in the future are the nursing and licensed staff shortages, wage compensation for licensed employees, and how to resolve the problem of uncompensated care on a city, county, state and nationwide basis. Also, Dursteler said AIDS is an issue that Utah hospitals will have to deal with increasingly.
Dursteler has a MBA in accounting from Michigan State University and a bachelor's degree in finance from Utah State University.
He is married to the former Tamara Follett of Hyde Park, Cache County, and they are the parents of five children. His family will be joining him in Utah Valley in December.