New management team takes over at Rangely Dist. Hosp.

RANGELY — The hospital board has hired Merrill Frank as an interim CEO to hold the helm while the search continues for a new permanent person.
Merrill was a previous CEO at the facility from 1997-1999 before he retired. He originally came to Rangely from New York state where he had received a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a master’s in health care business administration.
He served 20 years in various administrative posts and 20 years as a CFO in New York and Michigan. He and his wife have raised eight children in their combined families, and he is proud they’ve all gone on to professional careers.
After his retirement he and his wife fulfilled a lifetime dream when they put their furniture in storage, sold their house and bought a motor home to travel all across the country. For the past nine years they have crisscrossed the country doing volunteer work in national parks from Hawaii and Alaska to Mount Rushmore in South Dakota and the Lyndon Banes Johnson Historical Ranch in Texas. They were taking a break from their travels and living in Grand Junction when he was contacted about this position. Frank feels a four- to six-month interim job will hold them over until they’re ready to hit the road again next year.
The new business office manager is Brian Winder, who is coming in from Sandy, Utah. Winder is not completely new to the area; he married Candice Brown from Rangely. They met while completing their college educations at Southern Utah University, where Winder received a bachelor’s degree in business marketing. Winder says they’re glad to be leaving “the big city” since they are both avid outdoor enthusiasts and he loves fishing.
They are currently living in Vernal with their two children but will be moving to Rangely in September.