Ivinson Appoints Dr. Tim Kirsch as New Chief Medical Officer

Ivinson Memorial Hospital elevated Tim Kirsch, MD, to chief medical officer on Dec. 23, 2025, naming a physician with more than 20 years of clinical and leadership experience to steer the hospital's clinical priorities. Dr. Kirsch will continue to provide patient care while serving as the senior physician leader who represents clinical staff perspectives to hospital leadership and guides clinical operations.

Dr. Kirsch joined Ivinson in 2021, providing anesthesia services through a partnership with Northern Colorado Anesthesia Professionals and serving as the hospital's anesthesia medical director. His medical degree is from Creighton University, he completed residency training at the University of Cincinnati Hospital, and he undertook fellowship training at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. That clinical background anchors his new administrative responsibilities and preserves continuity in anesthesia coverage for the facility.

For Albany County residents the appointment has practical implications. Keeping an experienced anesthesiologist and established leader on site supports surgical and procedural capacity, which affects scheduling for elective procedures, emergency response readiness, and perioperative safety. In a region where rural hospitals often struggle to recruit and retain specialists, promoting an internal leader who remains a practicing clinician can bolster staff morale and signal institutional commitment to local care delivery.

The CMO role also carries broader public health responsibilities. As senior physician leader Dr. Kirsch will help align clinical priorities with operational planning, influence quality improvement initiatives, and shape responses to staffing pressures and patient flow challenges. Those functions are central to maintaining patient safety and access, particularly for patients who face transportation barriers or rely on local services for time sensitive care.

The appointment highlights systemic issues facing rural health systems, including workforce sustainability and equitable access to specialty services. Strengthening clinical leadership is one strategy to address those challenges, but it will need to be paired with sustained policy support and investments to ensure long term stability. For now Ivinson's decision keeps experienced clinical leadership at the center of care in Albany County, a development that matters for patients and for the health care professionals who serve them.