Dr. Christopher Rickman New President of Medical Staff at North Country Hospital

Dr. Christopher Rickman, internal medicine physician at Community Medical Associates,
is now president of the hospital’s medical staff.

Dr. Christopher Rickman New President of Medical Staff at North Country Hospital

The son of a pastor, Dr. Christopher Rickman spent much of his childhood moving from state to state, and community to community, as his father preached his message. Ten years after arriving at Community Medical Associates (CMA) in Newport, Dr. Rickman is glad to say he now has a community he can call home.

“It's nice to finally have roots,” Dr. Rickman said. “This is the first community I can really call my home.”
Not only does the doctor live here, like many other doctors who practice for North Country Hospital and Health System, he is an important and respected member of it. He has also earned the respect of his colleagues who work in the region's medical community, so much so that he was recently appointed to serve as the president of the medical staff of North Country Hospital.

Born in Oskaloosa, Iowa, Dr. Rickman spent his first five years in Abilene, Kansas, then the next six years in Marion, Indiana, then five more years living in Ontario, followed by his senior year of high school in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.

Being born into a traveling family had its ups and downs, he said. Although it is a challenge to say where his childhood “home” was since he had so many homes in different places, he also got to see the country and meet a variety of people.
By the time he was a junior in high school he was beginning to contemplate what he'd do with his life once he graduated. A teacher suggested that with his aptitude he should consider becoming a doctor. Although nobody in his family had ever pursued a career in medicine, he thought it was something he should consider. From then on there was no looking back.
Dr. Rickman went on to graduate from Messiah College, which is located just outside of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, with a bachelor's degree in biology. He then graduated from medical school at Penn State University. Following graduation he performed his residency at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire. Shortly after completing his residency he began working for CMA.
He laughs when he thinks about the first time he visited the practice and the hospital. “It was snowing, blowing, and 10 degrees below zero.” That would have been enough to scare away some people, but not Dr. Rickman. “It was beautiful.”

“I'm definitely a small town kind of guy,” he said. He and his wife, Amy, a Vermont native whom he met in college, and their two dogs, enjoy everything the region has to offer, and all that it doesn't have to offer, such as a lot of traffic and a hectic pace of life.
Dr. Rickman became President of the Medical Staff July 1 following the departure of Dr. Lisa LaCarrubba who left the region to move closer to her family. Dr. LaCarrubba served as President of
the Medical Staff for almost a year leading up to her departure.
“Lisa is a great loss to us and the county,” Dr. Rickman said. “She has been a great physician and President of the Medical Staff.”

The President of the Medical Staff has a number of roles, with the most important being serving as a liaison between the Medical Staff, the hospital Administration and the Board of Trustees.
Looking toward the 15 months that he'll serve as president, Dr. Rickman said it will be a time of great change for the health system. Work has already started on the search for a new CEO. “It's going to take a special person to fill that role,” he said. A search has begun for a new Vice President of Finance. And if everything goes as planned, later this year ground will be broken for a new medical office building on the hospital campus. Hiring more primary care physicians is another top priority.

Dr. Rickman knows he is not alone in leading the medical staff into the future. He commended the dedication that the staff at North Country, and the members of its Board of Trustees, has shown to the health system and the community.
“I think this is a really great small hospital,” Dr. Rickman said. “We can be proud of what we have here.”

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