Tupper and Kenagy join hospital board

Alexis Barker
NLJ Reporter
 
LeAnn Kenagy and Ashley Tupper will join the Weston County Health Services board of trustees after a vote by the board on April 18. The two women, both with backgrounds in health care, will become the sixth and seventh board members. The board opted last month to increase its size to seven members. 
“We have already signed papers, made changes to our bylaws and done everything required of us legally,” said Jimmy Long, board president, before the selection of new members. “We have one new applicant and four who were interested before.” 
Stacie Hoxie, according to Long, joined prior applicants LeAnn Kenagy, Ashley Tupper, Vera Huber and Lisa Gagnon in the boardroom awaiting the selection of the board. 
“It was another tough decision with a lot of discussion. I want to thank everyone that showed up and put their application in,” Long said before announcing that Tupper and Kenagy would join the hospital board. 
CEO Maureen Cadwell said that the board was impressed with the candidates and the decision on whom to add to the board was not taken lightly. Both women have a background in health care and a lot to offer to the facility, Cadwell said. 
Tupper and her family moved to Newcastle several years ago when she was hired as a family nurse practitioner for the Newcastle and Upton Regional Medical Clinics. 
“I am the current nursing manager for the clinics, a board- certified occupational health specialist and the electronic health record liaison, including provider super user for the EPIC medical record system,” Tupper said in her letter of interest. “Additionally, I bring a unique background in marketing, business and management, successful grant writing and nationally recognized research.” 
Kenagy was born and raised in Weston County and worked for Weston County Health Services for over 20 years, ending her career as the home health manager for the facility. 
“Weston County Health Services has given me the good life, and I think it’s time to give back,” Kenagy told the News Letter Journal. 
Both ladies noted their desire to serve the community as board members and that their main goal is to continue to provide excellent service to the people of the community. 
“I really don’t have an agenda. I just want to maintain what we have. We have a beautiful facility and I want to maintain that,” Kenagy said. “I know health care is going to have a bumpy road ahead with insurance issues and the lack thereof, and I am concerned about that and what we can do as a community to lessen the impact.” 
Tupper said that she strives to continue positive impacts on the community, at the level that citizens in the area are accustomed to. 
“My hope would be to continue to optimize and help procure additional high-quality health care services and providers to the community,” Tupper said. “I want to share the knowledge and satisfaction that we have provided unparalleled, comprehensive, financially sound, health care for our family, friends and neighbors in Weston County.” 
Cadwell later said that both women are a welcome addition to the board and that having seven members should lessen the burden on individual board members, with the opportunity to still get a lot accomplished. 
“Their (board members) whole reasoning was to broaden the views of what people can bring to the table and allow board members to be a part of true board committees that can just continue to improve on what we have already done here,” Cadwell said. 
She said that several committees were started or talked about, but those ideas had fallen to the wayside. 
“This kind of spreads the work out so it is not so focused on the five members but on seven. This is the maximum number they can have,” Cadwell said.