Board of Directors

Meet Our Board of Directors
We're proud that the Board of Directors for SCHS includes community leaders as well as members of our outstanding medical staff. Our CEO and President, James A. Diegel, FACHE, serves as an "ex-officio with vote" member.

Thomas Sayeg, JD, LLM, Board Chairman
Tom Sayeg is an attorney with the law firm Karnopp Petersen LLP specializing in business, taxation and estate law who has also served on our St. Charles Foundation board and its key committees. Beyond SCHS, he participates on the boards of educational institutions and is an officer of the Oregon Board of Taxation and Business. Tom is committed to providing compassionate health care to all.

Daniel Schuette, CLU, ChFC, CRPS, Vice Chairman
Dan Schuette, who is a senior broker at Home Federal Bank, joined our board in 2007 after serving on the Pioneer Memorial Hospital board of directors and the SCHS Planning and Development Committee. He brings more than 25 years of financial planning and investment experience as well as community service to this leadership position. A Prineville native, Dan has a strong personal interest in developing a quality health care system for Central Oregon.

Knute Buehler, MD
Knute Buehler is an orthopedic surgeon with The Center: Orthopedic & Neurosurgical Care & Research. A member of the SCHS Board since 2007 and of the St. Charles Foundation board since 2003, he has served on several of our medical staff committees. Knute characterizes hospitals within SCHS as community treasures because they provide services in the time of utmost need.

Josh Cook, DO
Dr. Josh Cook has worked as an emergency room physician at St. Charles Redmond and Pioneer Memorial Hospital for more than a decade. He currently serves as the medical director of the Emergency Department at the Prineville hospital. Cook holds a doctor of osteopathic medicine from the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine. Josh believes that the health care industry needs to change and that smaller hospitals can help lead those efforts.

Dennis F. Dempsey, D.Ed
Dennis Dempsey is superintendent for the Catholic Diocese of Baker and the Principal of St. Francis School in Bend. Currently he is also the Central Oregon Educational Leadership Supervisor for the University of Oregon. He serves as chairman of the SCHS Compensation and Patient Safety & Quality Committees. Dennis is also a member of the Mission Effectiveness and Governance Committees. Dennis believes members of our board have a sacred trust to provide the best medical services possible for residents of Central Oregon.

Douglas E. Downer, MBA
Doug Downer is president of Sundowner Capital Management, LLC., which he founded in 2000. He joined the St. Charles Foundation Board in 2005 after serving on the Foundation's Finance Committee and was then appointed to the our board in 2008. He and his wife, Amy, were General Chairs of the Expanding the Vision capital campaign, which raised more than $10 million. Doug is dedicated to the betterment of SCHS to help ensure the future health and well-being of the entire community.

Mack Gardner, LTC U.S. Army (Ret.)
Mack Gardner is the newest member of the St. Charles Health System Board of Directors, appointed to serve a three-year term in January 2013 as a representative from Jefferson County. He served in the U.S. Army for 23 years before retiring from the service and moving to Madras in 1994. During his time in Central Oregon, he has worked as the program director for the Jefferson County Commission on Children and Families and he ran the federal Migrant Head Start program for the Oregon Child Development Coalition in Jefferson County. He was a member of the Jefferson County Education Service District Board of Directors for seven years and serves on the Air Show of the Cascades board.

Megan Haase, RN, FNP
Megan Haase joined the St. Charles Health System board in March 2011. She has held her current position as CEO of Mosaic Medical — a network of community health centers in Bend, Prineville and Madras — since September 2010 and she has worked for the organization since 2002. She started out in direct patient care as a family nurse practitioner and said she is dedicated to improving access to care for patients who are underserved.

Bob Hakala, MD, Board Certified Family Physician
Bob Hakala began practicing medicine in Central Oregon in 1976 at the Bend Memorial Clinic. In 2005, he became medical director at the Volunteers in Medicine Clinic of the Cascades. VIM provides care for individuals with annual incomes less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level and have no health insurance coverage. Bob is known for his breadth of experience in Central Oregon and longtime commitment to compassionate care.

Lauri Miller, CPA
Lauri Miller is retired after serving as the Chief Financial Officer for Eagle Crest for years. Her expertise in finance developed by working for more than 20 years as a Certified Public Accountant. She also has experience in community services as treasurer of both the Seven Peaks School and the Bethlehem Inn board, and as a member of the Deschutes County Budget Committee.

James A. Diegel, FACHE
President and CEO — SCHS
(ex officio with vote)