Will Cook Named on Becker’s List of Rural CEOs to Know
Rural hospitals allow patients from remote areas to receive care without traveling long distances or sacrificing quality. The CEOs leading these necessary institutions take on a variety of responsibilities to ensure rural communities have access to top-tier healthcare. Will Cook was one of the executives featured on this list that are committed to expanding hospital service lines, renovating, and improving their facilities, and hiring talented team members. Although many rural hospitals have struggled due to COVID-19 and national staffing shortages in recent years, these leaders have created sustainable models for continued success.
Will Cook, President and CEO at Vail (Colorado) Health
Will Cook oversees the execution of the system’s strategic pillars of affordability, accessibility, population health and sustainability to forward Vail Health‘s mission of elevating health across rural mountain communities. During his tenure as president and CEO, he has focused on expanding access to high-quality, affordable patient care, led the integration of primary and specialty care with the addition of Colorado Mountain Medical, oversaw the completion of a $350 million hospital renovation, and expanded operations in neighboring counties, including the opening of two new ambulatory surgery centers and a comprehensive outpatient medical center. He is passionate about addressing the community’s behavioral health crisis, leading the launch of the Vail Health Behavioral Health Innovation Center, and opening both an outpatient behavioral health clinic and a 28-bed inpatient behavioral health hospital that is expected to begin treating patients in 2025.
