New faces at Odessa Memorial Healthcare Center

ODESSA – Two new faces at Odessa Memorial Healthcare Center are the chief executive officer John Serle and the chief financial officer Kimberly Dalrymple. Dalrymple has already been in place for the past year, learning the ropes from retiring CFO Annette Edwards. Serle has just begun his job here and now faces a housing crunch that the town needs to address.

John Serle, CEO

As of March 1, John Serle is the new CEO of Odessa Memorial Healthcare Center. The Akron, Ohio native joins the Odessa medical community from his most recent posting at Lourdes Medical Center in Pasco, Wash. He obtained his post-secondary education at the University of Toledo and Ohio State University. Following a one-year administrative residency after college, he has worked in healthcare management for 45 years.

Various opportunities for advancement have taken him to administrative roles in Chicago, northern California and Plains, Mont. prior to his stint in Pasco.

Serle says he will look for ways to maximize opportunities for Odessa's medical facilities. He loves a challenge, he says, and knows full well the obstacles facing small, rural communities. His job in Plains, Mont. placed him in a community very similar to Odessa, so he is familiar not only with small hospitals but also with small-town life.

He said he was impressed with the good people of the Odessa medical community, and he looks forward to continue working with them. He complimented interim CEO Emmett Schuster (who left for his home in the Midwest on March 12) for his work during this past year of the disruptive Covid pandemic. Since the first of March, Schuster has been providing Serle with a thorough orientation, briefing him on the various aspects of the Odessa medical facilities, introducing him to the staff and board of directors and providing him with information on the town and its surroundings.

Serle and his wife Carol are currently living in an apartment in the basement of the Odessa Clinic and are looking for a house to buy or a property to build on. They have three dogs and will need a big enough yard for the dogs to frolic in.

Kimberly Dalrymple, CFO

Kimberly Dalrymple is the new Chief Financial Officer at Odessa Memorial Healthcare Center. She moved to Odessa in early 2020 from Cascade, Idaho, where she was the CFO at a 10-bed facility. She has been in the accounting industry for approximately 30 years. With an MBA in Healthcare Management, a master's in accounting, training as both a Certified Fraud Examiner and Certified Healthcare Financial Professional, Dalrymple says she loves the challenges that come with healthcare finance.

"Of all the things I have done in my career, I would say healthcare finance is the most important. Patients' needs change, and insurance companies regularly change what they will cover. It is important that everyone has a place to go for his or her healthcare needs. Part of my job is to keep up to date on new rules and make sure we are being fiscally responsible, so we can continue to provide the quality local healthcare that our patients need and expect," she says.

Dalrymple was born in Rochester, N.Y. and moved to the Pacific Northwest in 1979. She graduated from McCall-Donnelly High School in McCall, Idaho, where she met and married her high school sweetheart. She and her husband raised two sons, both of whom happen to have chosen law enforcement as a profession. Kimberly also has two grandsons, ages 2 and 3. Jasper and Liam are very energetic and keep their grandparents on their toes when they visit.

"I've had quite a few people ask how I like the small town of Odessa. I love it. You can't drive down the road without someone waving, and you get to know people by name. It is like the small town I came from. Small town life isn't for everyone, but it fits me well. I look forward to being here for many years," she says.

While she loves the work she does, Dalrymple also has many interests outside of work, including motorcycling, boating, snowmobiling, traveling and opera. She adds, "Last year, I also found that I really like golf. I was asked to be on one of the women's teams here in Odessa. I am far from a pro, but we all have fun spending time together and being outdoors. I can't wait for golf to start again this year."