Eight appointed to Beaufort Hospital Directors Council

Eight Beaufort County residents have been appointed to the panel to oversee operations and help direct the future of the Washington hospital.

The appointments were made by the East Carolina Health Inc. Board of Directors at a recent meeting of that board in Greenville.

Members of the newly appointed Beaufort Hospital Directors Council include political leaders, industry leaders and residents with health-care experience, according to a press release announcing the appointments.

The council will report to the ECH board on issues affecting the Washington hospital. The council members will determine the frequency of meetings, as well as nominate a chairman.

The council’s specific duties include, but are not limited to, review and recommendations concerning medical-staff credentials, review of the hospital’s annual budget and quality issues and advising hospital President Harvey Case on community priorities and issues.

“We are pleased to have an outstanding group of individuals to help guide our hospital,” Case said in the press release. “I look forward to working with them as we continue to enhance our relationship with University Health Systems and provide quality health care to the people of Beaufort County.”

Appointed to the panel were Ed Booth, Lindsey Crisp, Ed Hamrick, Karen Krupa, Mitchell A. St. Clair, Dr. Jon Tingelstad, Chris Toppin and Bill Zachman.

Booth, a Beaufort County commissioner, and Crisp were nominated by the Beaufort County Board of Commissioners. The other council members were nominated by the ECH board.

Booth grew up in the Acre Station community and lives in Washington with his wife, Eltha. He is employed with the N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles in Greenville as an administrative hearing officer. Booth served one term on the Washington City Council before becoming a county commissioner.

St. Clair, a native of Chocowinity, lives in Washington. He is president of St. Clair Trucking Inc., a company he founded in 1982. In 2007, he was appointed to the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, of which he was recently reappointed for his third term. St. Clair serves as chairman of the Beaufort County Community College Board of Trustees.

Crisp, a native of Greenville, lives in Washington with his wife, Mary Beth. He graduated from East Carolina University with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. Crisp is president of Carver Machine Works. Before joining Carver, he was a senior manager with Dixon Hughes in Greenville.

Hamrick lives in Chocowinity with his wife, Dianne. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He worked at National Spinning in Washington for 36 years. He has served on many boards, including United Way and Crime Stoppers. He is the incoming chairman of the Washington-Beaufort County Chamber of Commerce.

Krupa lives in Chocowinity. She earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing and master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling from East Carolina University and master’s degree in public health-nursing from UNC-Chapel Hill. Krupa spent the majority of her 36-year career teaching at the ECU College of Nursing. She teaches part-time at the college and works with her husband, Robert Henkel, at Inner Banks Artisans’ Center.

Tingelstad is a native of North Dakota and retired to Chocowinity in 2000 with his wife, Marcia. He is a graduate of the University of North Dakota and Harvard Medical School. Tingelstad served on the faculty at the Brody School of Medicine at ECU for 24 years. Tingelstad was professor and chairman of the department of pediatrics for 22 years. He serves on the Chocowinity Emergency Medical Services Board.

Toppin is a Washington native and lives in the city with his wife, Tracey. He graduated from ECU with a bachelor’s degree in English. Toppin began working with PotashCorp-Aurora (then PCS Phosphate) in 1997. He is manager of human resources for the company. He has served as vice president of the Washington Girls Softball League and assistant district commissioner for Babe Ruth Softball for District 6.

Zachman is a Chicago native and lives in Bath with his wife, Katherine. He graduated from Northwestern University with a bachelor’s degree in history and entered the Navy as an ensign. In 1972, Zachman moved to Washington, where he practiced public accounting until 2008. He serves on the BCCC Foundation Board of Directors.

Each member will hold office for three years and will be eligible to serve three consecutive terms. Because this is a new council, terms will be staggered, according to the press release.