The Wahkiakum County Eagle - Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891

After leading Cowlitz Family Health Center for the past 38 years, longtime CEO Dian Cooper, formally announced that she will retire within the next 12 months. To ensure a smooth leadership transition, she will continue as the CEO until her successor is chosen.

In collaboration with talented and committed staff, board and community partners, Cooper has led FHC since 1982. “It has been my privilege to lead Family Health Center and work with some of the most creative and committed people in the country to improve the health and well-being of our community,” she said.

“Dian Cooper is versed in many areas of the health system as well as grant writing. Dian listens to her board and works with us,” said Cynthia Washington Mattson, Vice President of the Family Health Center Board of Directors.

Under Cooper’s leadership FHC has grown from a single family planning clinic to 12 clinical sites serving 30,000 people in Cowlitz, Wahkiakum, and Pacific counties.

Cowlitz Family Health Center board president, Mark Nelson, said “Dian’s heart and service to this community is second to none. The organization’s success and growth have come about because Dian and her staff have served both patient and community with a true servant’s heart.

“With Cooper as CEO, FHC has been a leader in integrating services, developing partnerships in the communities we serve, and advocacy for the needs of our communities.”

Sandi Benbrook Rieder, Treasurer, recalled that “Dian and the Family Health Center Board literally preserved local health care in our county when the Family Health Center took over the only medical practice in Wahkiakum County.”

The FHC Board of Directors has formed a CEO Search Committee to identify Cooper’s successor for the CEO position. A job announcement will be released on the organization’s website in the coming days. More information will be available at http://www.cowlitzfamilyhealth.org soon.