The Illinois Rural Community Care Organization Hires New Executive Director

The Illinois Rural Community Care Organization (IRCCO) has recently hired Todd Searls as the new executive director. Former Executive Director, Pat Schou, is retiring after a longstanding career consisting of over 45 years in both clinical and rural healthcare administration.

Searls brings over 20 years of experience and knowledge, achieving a notable career in healthcare leadership and health information technology.

Searls began as the IT Director for Metro Heart Group of St. Louis. There, he managed IT for the largest private cardiology group in the Midwest region. This led him to other senior roles within MercyOne, BJC HealthCare, and National Jewish Health, specializing in coordinating physician adoption of new health IT technologies. As the Director of REC Operations at CIMRO of Nebraska, he led the clinical and project teams where he was able to assist over 1,000 primary care providers and 65 Critical Access Hospitals in Nebraska with adopting certified EHR technology and meeting CMS Meaningful Use incentives.

At CVS Health, Searls served in various leadership roles across both Client Success and Business Development, working with his clients to earn shared savings and drive business growth for the organization. In his most recent role as Vice President of Strategic Accounts, he led both clinical and regulatory SMEs in enhancing Value-based Care performance within two large, rural Clinically Integrated Networks, totaling 55 rural hospitals and their associated clinics.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Kansas.

“I am very confident that Todd will do a fantastic job leading IRCCO, and I wish him all the best in his new role,” said Pat Schou. “I look forward to hearing about the great things he will help the organization achieve.”

Searls looks forward to his new leadership role, which is effective mid-June 2024.

Illinois Rural Community Care Organization (IRCCO) is an Accountable Care Organization (ACO) that is dedicated to quality, collaboration, excellence, and service. They strive to deliver the best healthcare possible to rural communities in Illinois. IRCCO’s mission is to improve the health of individuals seeking care and services, improve the overall health of the rural population served, and reduce the individual healthcare beneficiary spend and overall costs. IRCCO was developed in May 2014 under the Illinois Critical Access Hospital Network.

ICAHN is a network of 60 small, rural hospitals dedicated to strengthening the operations of its member hospitals through collaboration. The organization is composed of Illinois hospitals who have earned critical access hospital designation by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services and is recognized nationally for its work with rural healthcare, administering several state, federal, and private healthcare programs.