New CEO signs on at PRMC

CLOVIS — Drew Dostal figured he’d have a long career in law enforcement and spend his adult life in Michigan, despite a failed early attempt to change that narrative.

Medicine had other plans, however, and it’s since brought Dostal to Clovis as the new chief executive for Plains Regional Medical Center.

Dostal, who began at PRMC on Oct. 7, comes to Clovis from Ogallala Community Hospital in Nebraska, where he served in the same role.

“I’m a nurse by trade,” Dostal said of his trek into administration. “I kind of came to a crossroads where I had to decide to go into advanced practice with medical school, teaching or something else. As I looked at things, I became attracted to the administration route by some nurses. When you go into administration as a nurse, you can have an impact on all of the nurses every day. It opened up my eyes to the idea I could have an influence on nursing.”

After Dostal’s family moved to Michigan for his senior year of high school, he joined the Air Force after graduation.

“I went into the service to see more of the world,” said Dostal, “and they sent me back to Michigan.”

In 1991, following five years with the Air Force, Dostal planned to continue working in law enforcement as he had in the Air Force, but a community college counselor ending up steering him into nursing.

“It was nothing more than the Lord sending me where I needed to go,” Dostal said.

Being in Clovis, Dostal said, has so far been pleasant because it has a small-town feel while still providing many amenities, and it’s an added bonus that he comes into a community with an Air Force base.

“If I can serve them back,” Dostal said, “that’s something that’s very attractive.”

Before his stint in Nebraska, Dostal worked at hospitals in Michigan and Montana. He holds a bachelor’s degree in nursing and a Master of Business Administration from Ferris State University.

“We are thrilled to welcome Drew,” said Troy Clark, vice president of Regional Delivery System for Presbyterian Healthcare Services. “He has extensive healthcare leadership experience, particularly in small rural communities, is a trained nurse and has worked for integrated healthcare systems similar to Presbyterian. He is a tremendous asset for Plains Regional Medical Center.”

Clark had held the position in the interim since the retirement of Dick Smith in June.

Dostal said an appealing factor about PRMC is that it is celebrating 111 years as a health provider, and he wants to ensure a strong tie to the community always exists.

“I really want to focus on two things,” Dostal said, “one of them being making sure we live up to our regional medical center name. We want to be the place people go to in the area to get the care they need.

“That leads into the second thing, which is figuring out the community and what is going to be the direction we go in the future to provide care people are confident with, feel comfortable with and really want.”