Hospital Board Gains Five New Members

Karen Garner is one of five new members of MedStar St. Mary’s Board of Directors.

MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital is pleased to announce the addition of five members to its board of directors, a volunteer body dedicated to fulfilling the mission, vision, and values of our community hospital.

Karen Garner, Micheline Lopez-Estrada, Rick Tepel, Krista Wall, and Vince Whittles join MedStar Health leaders, community members, and representation from our medical staff and foundation in guiding the hospital toward important goals. The acquisition of our cutting-edge electronic medical record system and expansion of the medical specialties on staff is due to the board’s guidance, among other accomplishments.

Karen Garner was president of Rational HealthCare, which focuses on improving the integration of humans and technology to reduce health care costs and increase safety, until her retirement in 2016. She spent 17 years at Research and Engineering Development Inc., and 25 years as an engineering psychologist for the US Navy. Karen holds a master’s in business administration from University of Maryland University College.

Micheline Lopez-Estrada is the vice president of strategic solutions and capture management at ECS Federal Inc. She is a systems engineer and product manager with more than 25 years of experience supporting agencies within the Department of Defense. Micheline received her MBA from the Florida Institute of Technology and holds a master’s degree in technical management from Johns Hopkins University.

 

Rick Tepel is the chief executive officer of Raley, Watts & O’Neill Insurance and Financial Services, dedicated to serving the diverse needs of its clients from the company’s headquarters in California, Maryland. Rick earned his bachelor’s degree in American studies from Drew University in Madison, New Jersey, and also serves on the hospital foundation.

 

Krista Wall is a corporate administrative resident for MedStar Health. She is a 2017 graduate of the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, where she earned her master’s degree in health care administration. Krista recently completed an administrative internship with Intermountain Healthcare, where she worked on a number of operational initiatives primarily related to surgical services. Krista is also a certified pharmacy technician.

 

 

 

Vince Whittles is the owner of SERVPRO of St. Mary’s and Calvert counties, a Lexington Park-based cleanup and restoration business recently marking 34 years in the community. A graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park, Vince is the varsity wrestling coach at St. Mary’s Ryken High School and is a member of the hospital foundation.

 

 

About MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital
MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital (MSMH) is a full-service community hospital, delivering state-of-the-art emergency, acute inpatient and outpatient care in Leonardtown, Maryland. Nestled in a waterside community, MedStar St. Mary’s provides advanced technology with a dedication to excellence in all services provided. The not-for-profit hospital has been named among the nation’s Top 100 Hospitals and is an eight time recipient of the prestigious Delmarva Medicare Excellence Award. In addition, MSMH received the Maryland Performance Excellence award at the Platinum level in 2014 – the highest in the state. Our staff is committed to providing quality and compassionate medical care for all patients by coupling innovation with our outstanding team of Medical Staff members, associates, and volunteers. 

For more information and one-click access to a list of resources available at MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital, visit its Leader Page.