Samaritan Health Services is led by a highly experienced team of professionals who are committed to helping Samaritan achieve its mission of Building Healthier Communities Together.
Read about them below, and use the Contact Us feature to share your comments and suggestions about how we are doing.
President & Chief Executive Officer, Samaritan Health Services
An Iowa native, Boysen attended University of Northern Iowa where he received a bachelor’s degree in business administration. He continued his education at the University of Iowa, graduating with both a master’s degree in health administration and a juris doctorate. He has maintained his connection to the University of Iowa by serving on the Alumni Board of Directors for the Master of Health Administration program.
Upon graduation, Boysen worked for several years at Von Briesen, Purtell & Roper, a nationally recognized health law firm, as an associate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He then spent more than five years as assistant general counsel at Legacy Health in Portland, Oregon. Boysen joined Samaritan Health Services in 2006 as vice president and general counsel, and in 2012 he was promoted to vice president of general counsel and Human Resources. Boysen returned briefly to Wisconsin, spending a year as regional counsel for UnityPoint Health, a large regional health system with more than 30 hospitals and 30,000 employees. In June 2015, Boysen returned to Samaritan Health Services as executive vice president and chief administrative officer. He became president and CEO of Samaritan Health Services in early 2018. He has served as a guest lecturer at Oregon State University, Pacific University and Western University of Health Sciences, and as an adjunct faculty member at Oregon State University and Pacific University. Boysen is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives and the American Health Lawyers Association.
Boysen is an active member of the local community, volunteering with Willamette Neighborhood Housing Services, Center for Nonprofit Stewardship, Big Brothers Big Sisters and Trout Unlimited. He was also appointed in 2017 to the Corvallis Vision 2040 Implementation Group — ICAN (Imagine Corvallis Action Network Advisory Board).
Vice President of Strategy & Planning, Samaritan Health Services
Balzer joined Samaritan Health Services in 2010, following service as junior financial planner at a wealth management firm in Oregon. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Oregon State University in business administration with an emphasis in finance and a master’s in business administration in 2016 from Bushnell University. In her role as vice president of Strategy & Planning for Samaritan, Balzer leads the strategic planning process for the organization and also oversees systemwide initiatives and business planning operations for Samaritan.
She completed the American College of Healthcare Executives Executive Leadership training program in 2016.
Senior Vice President & Chief Executive Officer, InterCommunity Health Network & Samaritan Health Plans
Butler joined Samaritan Health Services in June 2019 to oversee health plans operations. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University and a master’s in business administration in finance from University of Chicago.
His previous roles include chief executive officer of Valley Health Plan, a county-owned managed care organization in San Jose, California, chief strategy officer for the University of California health care systems and chief underwriter for Presbyterian Health Plan in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He previously served on the board of directors of Ventures LLC, a Seattle-based nonprofit organization that provides access to business training, capital, coaching and hands-on learning opportunities for entrepreneurs with limited resources, the California Public Hospital Association and the New Mexico Health Insurance Alliance.
Chief Operating Officer, Hospitals, Samaritan Health Services
A Massachusetts native, Cahill attended the University of Oregon, where he received a bachelor’s degree in sociology. He followed that with a master’s in business administration with an emphasis in organizational behavior from Marylhurst University in Marylhurst, Oregon.
Cahill has worked for Samaritan Health Services since 2007, when he was hired as the director of physician relations for the medical staff at all five Samaritan hospitals. He served as CEO of Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital from 2009 to 2015. In 2013, he was appointed COO of Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital and assumed the role of its CEO in 2015 until becoming COO for Samaritan hospitals in late 2023.
As CEO at Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital, Cahill played a major role in implementing needed programs, navigating the hospital team through personnel and system changes, working to keep the hospital and various clinics operating at a profitable margin, and showing an unwavering commitment to recruitment, retention and development of a highly skilled health care team.
Cahill actively supported and helped to implement the hospitalist program at Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital. The hospitalist program was designed to help with the recruitment of new physicians to Lincoln City, improve the quality of inpatient care and provide relief to community-based providers. In addition, he oversaw the construction and operation of the Samaritan Early Learning Center, a facility in Lincoln City designed to meet the developmental and educational needs of young children.
As CEO for Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital, Cahill provided executive leadership for the hospital and its associated primary and specialty physician clinics and the facilities on the Samaritan Health Sciences Campus. He led the expansion of the hospital’s Emergency, Surgery and Same Day Care departments and developed a new multi-discipline clinic and retail pharmacy facility, as well as the 84-room award-winning Best Western PREMIER® Boulder Falls Inn, 1847 Bar & Grill, Boulder Falls Center and the one-acre Japanese garden and pond on the Boulder Falls campus.
He also worked with Samaritan’s philanthropy team to raise funds to build a residential substance abuse treatment center in Lebanon near the hospital, to help address the growing issue of substance abuse in the Willamette Valley. The center opened in April 2020.
Now as the COO for Samaritan hospitals, Cahill will drive systemwide integration and alignment of operations across the five hospitals within the Samaritan Health Services system.
Vice President of Foundations Central Operations, Samaritan Foundations
Gilmour joined Samaritan Health Services in 2014, following service as director of operations for the Providence Alaska Foundation in Anchorage. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Oregon State University and is a 2016 graduate of Leadership Corvallis. In her role as vice president of central operations for Samaritan Foundations, Gilmour oversees operations and fundraising efforts throughout the system. She was included on the inaugural Association for Healthcare Philanthropy 40 Under 40 list in 2018 and currently serves on the United Way of Benton & Lincoln Counties Community Impact Committee.
Chief Executive Officer, Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center
Hennum serves as chief executive officer of Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center. In this position, she leads Samaritan’s largest hospital, with 188 patient beds and dozens of medical specialties including comprehensive cancer care, a full-service cardiology and cardiothoracic surgery program, neurosurgery, orthopedic and spine surgery, inpatient mental health and other regional services.
Hennum joined Samaritan in August 2020 after leading multiple small hospitals in southern Nevada with Dignity Health as well as multiple health facilities with MultiCare in Washington. A Portland native, she began her career with Providence Health & Services and held leadership roles with health care organizations in central and Southern California prior to joining Dignity Health.
Vice President & Chief Legal Officer, Samaritan Health Services
Jacobsen has served as Samaritan’s vice president and chief legal officer since 2014. In this role, he provides guidance on all aspects of health care law with a focus on regulatory matters and strategic and transactional projects, including affiliations, joint ventures and physician alignment initiatives. His responsibilities extend to the oversight, growth and development of several important areas of the organization, including legal services and corporate governance.
Prior to joining Samaritan as assistant general counsel in 2010, Jacobsen was a prosecutor with the Lancaster County Attorney’s Office in Lincoln, Nebraska. In addition to his work at Samaritan, he is an active member of the American College of Healthcare Executives, the American Health Lawyers Association and the Oregon Society of Healthcare Executives. He also serves on the board of directors of the Medical Legal Partnership of Oregon and the City of Corvallis Police Review Board.
He earned a bachelor’s degree from Hastings College and a juris doctorate from Willamette University College of Law in Salem, Oregon.
Senior Vice President & Chief Administrative Officer, Samaritan Health Services
Kaiser serves as the senior vice president and chief administrative officer for Samaritan Health Services. In this position, she leads the diversity, equity and inclusion and well-being strategies for the organization and focuses on aligning the various corporate functions of the system to meet the needs of the communities it serves.
Kaiser joined Samaritan Health Services in 1995 focusing on provider relations for InterCommunity Health Network. In 1999, she was named CEO of InterCommunity Health Network and then CEO of Samaritan Health Plans in 2005. She has also had executive responsibility for various Samaritan physician groups over the years.
Kaiser is the past chair of the Corvallis Chamber of Commerce and served on the Chamber’s Business Advocacy Committee. She is a past board member of the Rotary Club of Corvallis and serves on the Oregon State Credit Union board of directors, of which she is currently the chair. She is also a member of the Oregon Health Leadership Council and serves on its Health Information Technology Commons governance board. Kaiser also sits on the Mid-Valley STEM-CTE Hub board. Kaiser was named Junior First Citizen in 2008 by the Corvallis Chamber of Commerce for her contributions to the community.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in health care administration and master’s degree in health policy and management from Oregon State University.
Chief Executive Officer, Samaritan Albany General Hospital
Keteri attended Finlandia University in Hancock, Michigan, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing. He followed that with a second bachelor’s degree in organizational communication from Marylhurst University, Marylhurst, Oregon, and then earned a master’s in health care leadership from Western Governors University, Salt Lake City, Utah.
Keteri has been in nursing for 33 years, nurse management for 30 years and executive management for nearly 18 years. He began his career as a travel nurse in Hawaii before accepting a position at PeaceHealth Southwest Washington Medical Center in Vancouver in 1987. He joined Samaritan Health Services in 2015, when he was hired as the vice president of Patient Care Services at Samaritan Albany General Hospital.
As vice president of Patient Care Services, Keteri focused on improving patient experience, implementing resources and attaining several hospital recognitions.
Through his leadership, Samaritan Albany General Hospital was elevated from the 45th percentile to the 75th percentile in overall patient experience. LEAN methodology was applied in the Emergency Department and consistently exceeds national benchmarks for maximizing patient value through reduction of waste and wait time. Keteri also led a room privatization project, enabling all patients the privacy of single-occupancy rooms.
In addition, he oversaw the establishment of Sarah’s Place, the only 24/7, freestanding sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) center in Oregon.
Keteri’s duties now include executive leadership of Samaritan Albany General Hospital and its associated primary and specialty physician clinics. He and his team have been recognized as a certified Primary Stroke Center, a certified total hip and knee replacement program and a five-star hospital, awarded by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Vice President & Chief Quality Officer, Samaritan Health Services
As chief quality officer, Dr. Mikula leads Samaritan’s operating system of high reliability to achieve the highest levels of safety, engagement, quality and experience. She works collaboratively with executive leaders across Samaritan’s five hospitals, the Samaritan Medical Group and Samaritan Health Plans and oversees the work of Samaritan’s Quality, Patient Safety and Clinical Risk, Patient Experience and Engagement, Regulatory and Accreditation and Quality Outcomes and Reporting departments.
Before joining Samaritan in 2020, Dr. Mikula served as the vice president and chief quality officer for Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Penn State Children’s Hospital and Penn State Health Academic Medical Group in Pennsylvania.
Dr. Mikula is a med/peds hospitalist, board certified in pediatrics and a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. She earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Wayne State University and a doctorate in medicine from Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit, Michigan. She completed a combined internal medicine and pediatric residency at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and Penn State Children’s Hospital and was an assistant professor of pediatrics for the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine.
Chief Executive Officer, Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital & Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital
Dr. Ogden serves as chief executive officer for Samaritan’s two critical access hospitals on the central Oregon Coast. Previously, she served as chief operations officer at Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital and as interim CEO at Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital and worked clinically as an emergency and urgent care clinician.
Dr. Ogden is residency trained and board certified in emergency medicine and has more than 10 years of clinical and leadership experience. She received her medical degree from Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston and completed her emergency medicine residency at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Oregon. In addition, Dr. Ogden received her master’s degree in business administration from The Citadel, South Carolina, and a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Troy State University, Alabama. Dr. Ogden previously served as president of the medical staff of Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital and currently serves as a trustee on both the North Lincoln Hospital Foundation and the Pacific Communities Health District Foundation boards. She championed new replacement hospital building projects in both Lincoln City and Newport and the innovative, efficient and state-of-the-art hospital facilities opened in 2019 and 2020.
As a member of the Lincoln County coastal community, Dr. Ogden is an active Rotarian in Lincoln City and served as club President in 2016 and 2017. She serves on the board of directors of the Economic Development Alliance of Lincoln County as well as the Oregon Coast Community College Foundation board.
Chief Operating Officer, Samaritan Medical Group
Julie Osgood joined Samaritan Medical Group in 2023. As chief operating officer, she collaborates with leaders across the Samaritan system to ensure efficient and effective operations of the medical group.
She comes to Samaritan most recently from University of Washington Medicine Valley Medical Center where she served as vice president of the clinic network. There, she was responsible for operations, quality and performance improvement, patient safety and population health. Previously, she spent 19 years at a large integrated health care system, MaineHealth, overseeing clinical integration and population health programs to help improve care and patient outcomes in Maine and New Hampshire.
Osgood holds a master’s degree in health policy and management from the Muskie School of Public Service at the University of Southern Maine and a doctorate in public health leadership from the Gillings School of Global Public Health at The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
In her free time, Osgood enjoys cycling, hiking, skiing and scuba diving.
Vice President of Human Resources, Samaritan Health Services
Russell serves as the vice president of Human Resources for Samaritan. In this position, he oversees the human resources functions serving more than 6,000 employees. The Human Resources function is comprised of the following: Compensation Benefits & Technical HR, Employee Health & Safety, Employee & Labor Relations, HR Operations, Learning & Development and Talent Acquisition.
He spends his time helping Samaritan recruit, train and retain employees, working to improve the employment experience so Samaritan employees may best serve patients and the community.
Russell received an associate degree in general studies-communications from Ricks College, now known as Brigham Young University – Idaho, and a bachelor’s degree in marriage, family and human development from Brigham Young University in Utah. Russell is a member of and active in local and state chapters of Society for Human Resources Management.
Russell joined Samaritan in June 2006 as a staff recruiter which led to a variety of other HR-related roles, including assistant department manager, Labor Relations director and Employee Relations director. He transitioned to the vice president role in April 2023. Russell’s professional journey illustrates Samaritan’s commitment to career development opportunities.
Senior Vice President & Chief Information Officer, Samaritan Health Services
Sapra joined Samaritan in 2021 as chief information officer and senior vice president, assisting SHS leadership develop and implement strategy for information services and systems.
With more than 18 years in the field, Sapra’s previous positions included senior vice president/chief information officer for University of Louisville Health, an academic medical center and Level I trauma center with more than 15,000 employees. He also spent 10 years in a similar role at Tuality Healthcare in Hillsboro, had a project leadership role at Seattle Children’s Hospital and worked for four years with Cerner Corporation, a major developer of electronic health record systems.
Sapra is a member of College of Healthcare Information Management Executives, a member of Health Information and Management Systems Society. He is a certified healthcare chief information officer and has been awarded Best Hospital IT Team and earned a Forty Under 40 award by the Portland Business Journal.
Sapra earned a bachelor’s degree from Middlesex University, United Kingdom, and an executive master’s in business administration from the University of Oregon.
Vice President of Marketing & Communications, Samaritan Health Services
Schauer leads Samaritan’s systemwide Marketing & Communications team, supporting strategic engagement with employees, providers, patients, partners and consumers.
Before joining Samaritan in 2022, Schauer served at Asante, a community-based not-for-profit health system in Southern Oregon, where she spearheaded infrastructure development to support digital and traditional marketing, business development and communications efforts. Under her leadership the department earned eight national and international recognitions in 2021. Prior to that, she directed system marketing at PeaceHealth, a health system serving three states in the Pacific Northwest, and led communications and marketing at the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine, a top-rated graduate medical school for acupuncture and Chinese medicine.
Schauer earned a bachelor’s degree in English and journalism from Auburn University and a master’s in business administration from Pacific University.
Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer, Samaritan Health Services
Smith joined Samaritan Health Services in 1992. He has served the system in various capacities, including controller and chief financial officer for Samaritan Albany General Hospital and then vice president and corporate controller for Samaritan’s corporate operations. In 2012, Smith was named chief financial officer and then in 2018, added senior vice president to his responsibilities.
Smith is a certified public accountant in Oregon and a fellow in the Healthcare Financial Management Association. He earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from California State University, Chico, and a master’s degree in business administration from George Fox University, Portland, Oregon.
Senior Vice President & Chief Physician Executive, Samaritan Health Services
Dr. Turngren brings decades of experience in clinical leadership to this integrated health care delivery system comprised of five hospitals and nearly 100 clinics in western Oregon.
He led the formation of Samaritan Medical Group in 2018 to align the work and organizational culture of more than 600 employed physicians and advance practice clinicians. In addition to establishing a clinician-led governance structure for the medical group, Dr. Turngren provides guidance and oversight for ongoing initiatives such as redesigning care delivery, increasing access to care and moving the group towards a value-based care model. He also works with leadership of Samaritan Health Plans to foster integration of health care delivery and improve population health outcomes.
He oversees Samaritan departments and initiatives including Clinician Wellness, Patient Experience and Graduate Medical Education – the second-largest program in the state with 112 residents and fellows in 11 clinical disciplines. He also provides oversight for quality improvement and Samaritan’s efforts to become a highly reliable organization with a focus on safety and zero harm for patients and staff.
Dr. Turngren earned his undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and completed family medicine residency at Southern Illinois University, Decatur. He earned a master’s in business administration from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota.
He practiced for 16 years at the Carle Clinic in Urbana, Illinois, opening the first satellite clinic in Monticello, Illinois. His practice was full-spectrum family medicine, including obstetrics, and he logged 10,000 hours in the Level I trauma center at the Carle Foundation Hospital.
During his time at Carle, he held various leadership positions including six years on the Clinic Board of Governors with two years as board chair. Subsequent leadership roles included vice president of Centegra Primary Care in Crystal Lake, Illinois, and president of the Meriter Medical Group in Madison, Wisconsin.
As a health care leader with a strong clinical background, Dr. Turngren strives to create an environment where clinicians and staff thrive while fulfilling Samaritan’s mission of building healthier communities together.
Chief Executive Officer, Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital
Wendie Wunderwald received her associate degree of nursing from Linn-Benton Community College and earned both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in health care administration from Saint Joseph’s College of Maine.
Beginning her professional journey in 1984 as a new graduate nurse, Wunderwald has dedicated more than 39 years of service to Samaritan Health Services. Her trajectory within the organization reflects a diverse range of roles, starting as a new graduate nurse and progressing through positions such as staff nurse, charge nurse, nurse supervisor, Critical Care Unit manager and Emergency Department manager.
For the past 19 years, Wunderwald has served as the vice president of Patient Care Services at Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital, contributing her expertise to enhance the quality and experience of patient care. Under her leadership, the Lebanon hospital became the first critical access hospital in the U.S. to win the Beacon award from the American Association of Critical Care Nurses. The hospital was also recognized by the Lebanon Chamber of Commerce as Large Business of the Year in 2022.
Wunderwald’s duties now include executive leadership of Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital and its associated primary and specialty physician clinics and the facilities on the Samaritan Health Sciences Campus.
