Jean MacDonell has been named President and CEO of Fairview Range in Hibbing, Minn., in addition to her role as President and CEO of Grand Itasca Clinic & Hospital in Grand Rapids, Minn. Jean has been the President and CEO at Grand Itasca since 2019 and has served as the interim President and CEO of Fairview Range since January 4, 2021. Effective July 1, 2021, she will assume the permanent position overseeing both locations.
“I am honored and humbled to have been asked to work with Fairview Range, in addition to my work with Grand Itasca. Our organizations were historically competitors, until Grand Itasca joined Fairview in 2017, but over the last few years we’ve done some great work to begin working collaboratively. This role allows us to bring the organizations even closer together as partners to better serve our communities.”
Jean has 23 years of experience in health care, 14 of which have been at Grand Itasca. She graduated from Grand Rapid High School, attended the College of St. Scholastica for her Bachelor of Science in Health Information Management, and received her Master of Business Administration from the University of St. Thomas.
Grand Itasca and Fairview Range are both wholly owned subsidiaries of Fairview Health Services and each have independent boards of directors, made up primarily of leaders from their respective communities. Fairview Range board chair, Jessalyn Sabin shares “In the time Jean has served in her interim role, she has demonstrated a clear commitment to the communities that Fairview Range and Grand Itasca serve. Her forward-thinking and collaborative leadership approach has been opening doors for all stakeholders to take part in visioning the future of healthcare in our region. The Fairview Range Board of Directors is pleased to welcome Jean into this permanent role, and we look forward to the future of care in our region under Jean’s leadership!”
Grand Itasca board chair, Dale Adams adds “We are confident that this was the best decision for our patients and communities and know that Jean is the right person for the job. She has proven herself time and time again.”
Echoed by Laura Reed, Fairview Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, “We are incredibly fortunate to have had Jean’s leadership at Grand Itasca for the last couple years. As a local to the area, she has incredible connections to the community and is so well liked and respected by her peers. That matched with over 20 years of experience in health care from health information to clinic oversight and more, makes her the ideal fit for this shared President and CEO role. Our northern Minnesota partners are so important to us and we’re so happy to see them in the hands of such a reliable leader.”