Schock’s rise at McKee more than ‘magic’

Marilyn Schock may have grown up in Wyoming, but her heart is in Colorado.

Specifically, in McKee Medical Center in Loveland.

“I just love it here,´ said the Cody native. “We have a great team and a great community that supports us. It’s a big family.”

SPONSORED CONTENT

Select your Republic Services residential cart now!

In preparation for Republic Services becoming the primary provider of residential recycling, yard trimmings, and trash, residents should now select the best cart size and service schedule for their household needs.

Schock, 48, is the 2010 Northern Colorado Woman of Distinction in health care. A 1986 graduate of Colorado State University with a bachelor of science degree in occupational therapy, Schock began her medical career as a staff therapist at McKee that same year. She moved up two years later to become WorkCare manager. That three-year stint saw Schock developing workers’ compensation programs and overseeing occupational therapy services at a specialty rehabilitation clinic.

In 1991, she moved up again to become McKee’s director of rehabilitation services. McKee, owned by Phoenix-based Banner Health System, became a springboard in 1999 for Schock to accept the position of manager of medical services for Banner’s Mountain Shadows Medical Association High Plains HealthCare Alliance in Greeley.

After one year as manager – while earning her MBA with an emphasis on health care strategy at CSU – Schock was promoted to regional director of operations and medical services for the alliance, a post she held until 2005. In September of that year, Schock had the opportunity to come back to McKee as associate administrator, the hospital’s second-highest position.

Three years later, Schock’s management abilities were further recognized with a promotion to associate administrator of North Colorado Medical Center in Greeley, which Banner Health has a contract to operate.

When McKee CEO Christopher Cornue decided in late 2009 to leave that position after less than a year to return to his native Chicago, Banner named Schock CEO of the hospital where she got her start 23 years earlier.

When interviewed by the Northern Colorado Business Report about her promotion as McKee’s new CEO last January, Schock said she was happy to be back.

“This hospital is a gem,” she said. “When you walk in the door, there’s a community feel, that somebody cares about you. We call it the McKee Magic.”

Schock said she’s still feeling that magic eight months after assuming the CEO position.

“Even in light of the challenges being provided right now, we’re staying very strong and I think part of that is that McKee Magic and our ability to deliver care to our community,” she said.

In her nomination of Schock as a Woman of Distinction, executive assistant Carol Salter related a personal interaction in which Schock took the time to give Salter’s teenaged daughter some advice on treating an ankle injured playing basketball.

The interaction had a big impact, Salter said. “It gave my daughter the idea that someone can enter a field they love, work their way up and make a huge difference in people’s lives as the leader of an organization.”

For Schock’s part, she’s honored to have been chosen to be a Woman of Distinction. “Being recognized was a surprise because I don’t think of myself that way,” she said. “But it’s very exciting.”

Click here for a list of the
2010 Women of Distinction and links to their profiles.

Steve Porter