Watertown Regional Medical Center Welcomes New Board Members and Chief of Staff

Watertown, WI – Watertown Regional Medical Center is excited to welcome Jason Polzin, Katey Higgins and Kathy Wagner to the Board of Trustees and Dr. David Parkins, Anesthesiologist, as the new Chief of Staff.

The new board members bring a mix of experience, skills and community knowledge that will help the hospital achieve its mission of making communities healthier. Jason lives in Lake Mills and is the General Manager of Global MR Applications and Workflow at General Electric Healthcare. Katey and Kathy are both long-time Watertown residents. Katie is a realtor with Realty Executives. Kathy is a retired math teacher and school principal.   

The Board of Trustees is comprised of local business owners, physicians, community members and hospital administrators. It’s the board’s job to ensure Watertown Regional Medical Center delivers quality care.  As a result of the board’s efforts, the hospital was recognized as one of the top 100 community hospitals in the country by the Chartis Center for Rural Health in 2020.  Also, WRMC has been recognized as a grade “A” hospital by the LeapFrog group due to patient outcomes.

“We would like to thank the new board members for stepping up to help their community during this challenging time,” said Kim Erdmann, Board of Trustees Chairman & President and CEO of Schaefer Brush Manufacturing. “We would also like to thank Dru Laws, Emily Lessner and Sue Rhodes whose time on the board has come to an end.  Their contributions have been immeasurable to the health of our community.”

The last new member on the board is the hospital’s new Chief of Staff, Dr. David Parkins. In addition to maintaining a seat on the board, the Chief of Staff oversees all care provided by physicians and other medical providers at the hospital.

“Dr. Parkins is a Board Certified Anesthesiologist with years of experience providing quality care,” said Richard Keddington, Chief Executive Officer at Watertown Regional Medical Center. “With him, our community’s health is in great hands.”

Dr. Parkins will be filling the role for Dr. Brent Yaeggi, whose two-year term as Chief of Staff has come to an end. “During an unprecedented time, Dr. Yaeggi did a tremendous job overseeing our patient care during the coronavirus pandemic,” said Keddington. “We want to thank him for his leadership during the last two years.”

The following is a comprehensive list of hospital board members: Kim Erdmann, Board Chair; Dr. David Parkins, Chief of Staff; Richard Keddington, CEO; Jim Bird, CFO; Marcy Tessmann; Dr. Sajjad Nasir; Dr. Ron Sokovich; Dana Stinnett, NP; Dr. Jeff VanBeek.  Furthermore, the following individuals represent the Greater Watertown Area Health Foundation with the joint venture with LifePoint Health: Randy Phelps, John Kosanovich, David Schroeder, Carol Quest.