Bitterroot Health CEO is ‘Businessperson of Year’

by Nathan Boddy

John Bishop, CEO at Bitterroot Health, was recently named Businessperson of the Year by the Bitterroot Valley Chamber of Commerce. He was recognized at their annual banquet.

John Bishop, now in his fourth year as CEO of Bitterroot Health, began his career in healthcare following a terrifying series of events. Bishop and his wife, Halsey, were unexpectedly swept into the confusing world of the medical industry when their first child was born premature. What followed were months spent in neonatal units throughout the west, and a dizzying exposure to a world that most people would rather avoid. Bishop says of the time, “(It) kind of changed my trajectory of a career path.”

Bishop grew up in Bozeman where he graduated from MSU and began to work in accounting. The time spent in hospitals following the birth of his son, Brecken (now 13), caused Bishop to begin envisioning a change that he might be able to make within healthcare. “I did want to do something to try and make that industry better,” he says. “As a parent I got to see the miracle that my son is alive and well and strong today. It was also really frustrating through that process, some of the breakdowns in communication between the hospital side and us as the parents of the patient.” Ultimately, that event became a catalyst for Bishop to change career paths.

Several months ago, the Bitterroot Chamber of Commerce awarded John Bishop with its ‘Businessperson of the Year’ award. This distinction seems to be reflected in all the changes and expansions of Bitterroot Health that can be seen around the valley. Ultimately, however, Bishop says that he is most proud of Bitterroot Health’s renewed focus on the needs of the community it serves.

“There’s a lot of great things that have happened and a lot of great people that have helped us get there,” he says. “We’ve really stepped back and looked at our community, the people that live here and what their needs are from a service perspective.”

Bishop reiterates that he would like to see people in the valley have access to the care they need, where they need it. This philosophy means everything from primary care to the specialities that have seen increased attention under Bishop’s tenure as CEO. As an example, he mentions the upcoming Cancer Infusion Center and what that could mean to patients.

“One of the most destructive things that happens in people’s lives is obviously being diagnosed with cancer.  And to think about living in this valley and having to drive to Missoula or elsewhere multiple times a week to receive those treatments makes it that much more destructive.” He hopes that having a stable Cancer Infusion Center will address that community need for the long run.

Bishop says that he and his wife always had the Bitterroot Valley in their sites as a possible location to raise their three children, Brecken, Addison and Hudson, but it was a lucky strike that the position of CEO came available. Bishop says he is only the third CEO the hospital has had in the last 54 years. “This job doesn’t open very often and hopefully it won’t be open again for a long time,” he says.

While the Covid pandemic was not an ideal way for the new CEO to begin his tenure, he says that it allowed many of the staff at Bitterroot Health to rise to the occasion and make due as a team. “It showed us who we are and what we are made of, as an industry,” he says. Overall, he says that things have been great and that he is looking forward to continuing to serve a diverse and rapidly growing valley.

“This is what rural, critical access hospitals are all about,” he says. “We have to be here, to build our organization for everyone.”