Photo provided by Columbus Regional Health Steve Baker, left, will become president and CEO of Columbus Regional Hospital on April 1, with the retirement of current president and CEO Jim Bickel.
The Columbus Regional Health Board of Trustees announced Tuesday that longtime CEO Jim Bickel will retire at the end of the month, with CRH President and Chief Operating Officer Steve Baker assuming the role of president and CEO staring April 1.
The announcement came several months after Bickel announced plans last year to retire after 17 years as the hospital system’s chief executive and a 34-year career at CRH.
Following last year’s announcement, CRH Board of Trustees set in motion a succession plan, splitting the president and CEO roles into separate positions to “ensure smooth and seamless transition,” officials told The Republic previously.
As part of the plan, Bickel had remained on as CEO in the meantime to “focus on strategic and long-term initiatives for CRH,” while Baker, who was CRH executive vice president and COO, assumed the role of president to oversee day-to-day operations of the hospital system, in addition to his duties as COO.
Baker has served as CRH president and COO since August 2024.
Bickel will continue serving part-time as a strategy advisor to the CRH Board of Trustees and executive leadership throughout the rest of the year.
“On behalf of the trustees, and the entire Columbus Regional Health organization, we are pleased that Steve Baker will become president and CEO, upon Jim Bickel’s retirement,” said Board Chair Don Michael in a statement. “Steve’s passion for exemplary care and service, and his commitment to CRH’s unique culture make him and excellent choice to usher the organization into a strong future.”
An Indiana native, Baker initially joined CRH in 1998 as director of information services after serving nearly a decade in the U.S. Air Force, according to CRH.
Baker would take on other roles at CRH, including manager of technical services and later director of technical services before leaving the hospital system in 2010 to join UK Healthcare in Lexington, Kentucky. In 2012, Baker joined East Jefferson General Hospital in Metairie, La., as chief information officer.
Two year later, Baker joined IU Health as executive director of IS infrastructure before returning to CRH in 2016 as vice president and chief technology and information officer.
In 2020, Baker became vice president and chief administrative officer at CRH before taking on the role of executive vice president and chief operating officer two years later.
Baker also serves on the Heritage Fund – The Community Foundation Board and the Ascension Rural Healthcare Board. He and his wife, Deanna, have two adult children.
Baker told The Republic last year that he is looking forward to the new role and plans to “continue to execute our strategic plan as we have it set forth and really drive (CRH) into the future.”
“I’m very excited that next opportunity in my career to lead this organization” Baker said last year.
As Bickel prepares to retire, he will leave behind a storied career at CRH.
Bickel was appointed as interim CEO in July 2007 after a candidate who was offered the chief executive role at CRH backed out just days before he was supposed to start.
Before being named interim CEO, he held the roles of manager of facility and internal relocation for one year, director of materials management and support services for seven years and vice president of professional and support services for eight years.
In August 2007, the CRH board named Bickel as the hospital system’s permanent CEO, with Bickel saying at the time, “I’m very honored and pleased to be given this opportunity by the board and given the chance to more the organization forward and continue on the path we are.”
Bickel would go on to lead CRH through two of the largest challenges that the hospital system has endured over the course of its history — the COVID-19 pandemic and the catastrophic 2008 flood that prompted staff and the Indiana National Guard to scramble to evacuate 157 patients and temporarily forced the hospital to close its doors while officials renovated and repaired the basement and first floor of the hospital.
He also would spearhead plans to develop a new hospital campus on Columbus’ west side and enter into a joint venture with the city of Columbus to transform the former FairOaks Mall into a health, wellness and recreation center now known as NexusPark.
“Looking back as president and CEO, we’ve had a number of things that have occurred, whether you want to look at the pandemic, COVID-19 most recently all the way back to the flood of 2008,” Bickel said last year. “…There were a lot of things that were not planned, and other things … that we did plan, such as bringing and unifying our outpatient and physician practices together with NexusPark and those things. But regardless of whether it was planned or unplanned, when I look at some of those significant events that I just referenced, what sticks out the most for me is regardless of the challenge or the opportunity that was in front of us, it has been the great talent and people that we have within this organization that have stepped up to those unplanned challenges.”
After retiring, Bickel said he and his wife plan to spend time with family, grandchildren, travel and possibly pursue “certain hobbies that I have.”
