IRON MOUNTAIN – John Schon, administrator / CEO of Dickinson County Healthcare System, was formally recognized for 30 years of service to the organization by Bill Edberg, chairman of the Board of Trustees.

Edberg paid tribute as part of the monthly Board meeting. Schon will also be recognized at the upcoming Service Awards Tea held annually in the hospital cafeteria.

Schon joined Dickinson County Healthcare System in 1985 as its chief financial officer. In 1987, he became chief operations officer and in 1988 was appointed to his current position by the Board of Trustees.

During his tenure as administrator / CEO of DCH System, he has presided over a period of tremendous growth and change for the healthcare system. With the construction of a new replacement hospital in November 1996 and the adjacent Dickinson Medical Building in September 1997, Dickinson Memorial Hospital expanded its mission from that of an acute care hospital to a comprehensive healthcare system.

In addition, the medical staff has more than doubled to 88 active staff members, and the breadth of medical specialties .

“Finally, every department throughout the healthcare system has experienced an exponential growth of technology; as a result, additional services have become available locally. Consequently, since 1996 DCH System has become the major employer in the Dickinson County area, more than doubling its staff to more than 800, with tremendous economic impact on the quality of life in the region,” a spokesperson said.

In recent years, Dickinson County Healthcare System has been recognized on both the state and national levels for its continuous quality and safety. Recognition includes the Healthgrades Patient Safety Award, which is achieved by only 10 percent of hospitals nationwide. Locally, DCH System received the Large Business of the Year Award from the Dickinson Chamber Alliance.

“I am proud of the resiliency of our organization. We have found a way to work through the challenges we have encountered to be able to evolve into the state-of-the-art organization we are today,” Schon said. “Many people have worked hard to provide this community with the healthcare it has today. I am proud of those people and their efforts as well as the end results.”

Edberg commented upon Schon’s unique leadership style, which has been a blend of responsible financial oversight, a continuous vision toward the future, and ongoing encouragement of staff to grow their departments, clinics and services lines.

These skills have guided the healthcare system through times of growth as well as periods that required tighter financial control.

Schon was also complimented on his ability to balance financial constraint with the ongoing need to grow revenue. He was also cited for a tenacious adherence to what he viewed was his primary responsibility, which was the assurance of the viability of the healthcare system and the overall healthcare services for the community.

Schon has always been a strong proponent of locally accessible healthcare, both in the immediate Dickinson County area as well as throughout Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. To this end, he has held leadership positions within the Upper Peninsula Healthcare Network and Upper Peninsula Health Plan.

Mr. Schon holds a bachelor of science degree in business administration from Northern Michigan University and a master’s degree in public administration from the Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies at the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor.

He is a native of Ontonagon and is an avid outdoorsman as well as a football fan of both the Green Bay Packers and U of M.

He currently resides in Kingsford with his wife, Myrna; they have three adult children and one grandchild.