HFMA members often refer to fellow members as family. The term captures the close bond that forms out of shared interests and experiences. Actual family and HFMA family were recently one and the same, however, when Virgil Guthrie, a former Nebraska Chapter president, watched his grandson Kyle Teel, FHFMA, CPA, assume the same office he held 46 years earlier.
The installation took place on March 23 during the Chapter’s annual meeting in Omaha.
Teel said having his grandfather there was impactful for both of them.
“When I first let him know my career path led me to healthcare about eight years ago, one of the first things he said was, ‘Make sure you get involved in HFMA,’” said Teel. “At the time, I had no idea just how good that advice was. The impact HFMA had on him is longstanding. He talks about it to this day. And I can say without a doubt I wouldn’t be who I am today without the Association and the Nebraska Chapter.”
Besides family and HFMA ties, another thing Teel and Guthrie have in common is Community Hospital (CH) — a 25-bed critical access hospital located in McCook, Nebraska. Teel is currently the hospital’s corporate controller, and Guthrie served as CFO from 1970 through 1993. But they aren’t the only Nebraska Chapter presidents with connections to CH. There actually are five of them. In addition to Teel and Guthrie, that includes:
- James Ulrich, FHFMA, FACHE, MHA, former CH CFO and president and CEO, and Chapter president (2005-06)
- Troy Bruntz, former CH CFO and current president and CEO, and Chapter president (2014-15)
- Sean Wolfe, FHFMA, CPA, current CH CFO and Chapter president (2020-21)
This 46-year legacy of leadership was another cause for celebration at the Chapter’s recent officer installation with all five in attendance.
“Community Hospital supports involvement in professional organizations, and HFMA in particular,” said Wolfe. “Moving through the leadership ranks of a very high performing organization like the Nebraska Chapter of HFMA provides extremely valuable experience that can directly be applied in the day-to-day hospital leadership roles we are in.”
