Mark F. Dalley, FACHE, Chief Administrative Officer for Gunnison Valley Hospital, was recently awarded the Distinguished Healthcare Executive Award by the Utah Hospital Association. The award, presented during the Association’s Fall Leadership Conference at Deer Valley in Park City, recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to improving healthcare in the state of Utah.
Throughout the decade in which Dalley has served as chief administrative officer at Gunnison Valley Hospital, he has gained a well-deserved reputation as an influential leader in Utah’s rural healthcare sector. He has provided policy makers with an informed perspective on issues affecting Utah’s smaller community hospitals.
Gunnison Valley is a 25-bed Critical Access Hospital. With an active medical staff of over 20 providers plus several visiting specialists, the hospital provides outstanding personalized care to the communities which it serves. Gunnison Valley Hospital owns and operates many support services, including provider clinics, home care, hospice, and ambulance services. With over 200 employees, Gunnison Valley Hospital is one of the largest employers in Sanpete and Sevier County and has a reputation of providing a positive working culture.
Under Dalley’s leadership, Gunnison Valley Hospital has been awarded several national and local recognitions, including a five-star overall hospital quality rating from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The hospital is recognized for exceptionally low rates of readmission and mortality, as well as high standards of safety and patient experience. Additionally, the hospital has earned recognition as one of the Chartis Center for Rural Health’s Top 100 Critical Access Hospitals.
Dalley began his healthcare career more than 35 years ago as administrator for Valley View Medical Center, now Cedar City Hospital, in southwestern Utah. He continued advancing his career, serving in leadership positions at Dixie Regional Medical Center and later Intermountain Hospitals of Utah County. In 1996 he accepted the CEO position at Tooele Valley Healthcare before joining Rural Health Management Corporation for six years. He then left the state for several years, leading Holy Rosary Medical Center in Ontario, Oregon as president and CEO before returning to Utah and joining Gunnison Valley Hospital in 2011.
Dalley received his undergraduate education at Southern Utah State College, now Southern Utah University, and earned his master’s degree in public administration at BYU. He values continuing education and holds “Fellow” status with the American College of Healthcare Executives.
Dalley is a passionate advocate for Utah’s rural independent hospitals, helping in the development of the Rural 9 Network in 2013. The Rural 9 Network brings together the voices of Utah’s nine independently operated hospitals. The Network discusses critical issues of common interest and determines ways to collaborate for the improvement of healthcare services in Utah’s smaller, rural communities. Additionally, Dalley has been an active member of the Utah Digital Health Services Commission and the Rural Health Association of Utah, serving as board chair for both organizations. Dalley is also a strong rural voice on the Utah Hospital Association Board of Trustees and currently serves as board chair. He has also been involved in the Association’s Government Relations Committee and is a past chair of UHA’s Rural Hospital Council.
UHA is a private, not-for-profit trade association representing Utah’s hospitals and health systems.
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