RCHC
PLAINVILLE – Mike Sinclair, the CEO of Rooks County Health Center (RCH), passed away Tuesday evening at Rooks County Health Center after a lengthy battle with cancer. Visitation will be at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Plainville from 5 to 8 p.m. Sunday, August 6 with the funeral being held at the same location at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, August 7. Burial arrangements are pending.
Sinclair joined RCH in 2009, having worked for 30 years previously as an administrator at other rural critical access hospitals. Under his guidance RCH experienced exceptional growth. When asked about his greatest accomplishment, June Karlin, RCH Executive Assistant replied, “He unified relationships throughout the hospital as well as the county. The culture he created was one of teamwork with the mindset that health and safety should be first and foremost in all initiatives.”
Sinclair was instrumental in advancing sepsis care initiatives, acquiring stroke treatment services and establishing Level 4 Trauma center designation. He oversaw the opening of the Stockton Medical Clinic and was vital to the recruiting of providers to staff the clinic. He broadened RCH’s footprint even further, beyond the county’s borders, with the opening of Doctors Without Delay, the first daily walk-in clinic offered in Northwest Kansas. Most recently he lent his foresight to unify the county’s pre-hospital care to be coordinated via one Emergency Medical Services provider rather than through separate entities for each city.
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The number of newborns born under Sinclair’s administrative leadership at RCH grew every year. He welcomed innovations like providing Doula and Lactation services. RCH was recognized by the March of Dimes through their program “Healthy Babies are Worth the Wait” and by the Kansas Breastfeeding Work Group honor of “High 5 for Mom & Baby”.
Sinclair’s achievements at RCH could be noted in physical transformations as well with the newly completed hospital expansion providing on-site MRI and Nuclear Medicine services. He also initiated the second phase of expansion, the addition of a new wing for Physical Therapy and Cardiac Rehabilitation complete with state of the art features like a zero-entry pool and walking track for the community.
These initiatives did not go unnoticed. During his tenure, RCH earned national recognition. RCH was named one of the Top 100 Critical Access Hospitals in the United States by Becker’s Hospital Review. RCH earned honors as the only Kansas rural hospital recognized as one of the top 50 U.S. hospitals with the lowest rate of patient readmissions as measured by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Recently RCH received the Kansas Healthcare Collaborative 2017 Leadership in Quality Award of Merit for innovation and quality improvement, one of only three Kansas hospitals so honored.
Outside the hospital, Sinclair enjoyed spending time with his family and horseback riding. His youth was spent on the rodeo circuit and his later years were devoted to perfecting his horsemanship. He is survived by his wife, Karen, and his son, Nolan, of the home. He is also survived by his two daughters, Christine Dial of Idaho Falls, Idaho and Ann Klein of Tigard, Oregon. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for memorials to Rooks County Healthcare Foundation to go towards Phase 2 of the RCH expansion or Plainville Cardinal Booster Club.