GRMC Announces New Directors

Grinnell Regional Medical Center recently announced the promotions of Chad Nath to director of wellness services and integrated therapies and Tom Sheets to director of security.

“Both Chad and Tom bring unique skills to their new roles at GRMC,” says Suzanne Cooner, vice president of operations. “GRMC and of course, the community at large, will certainly benefit from their experience and expertise.”

Nath has been a member of GRMC staff since 2003 and has served as the Emergency Preparedness, Safety, and Security Coordinator. He also oversees the GRMC Daycamp program.

A native of Estherville, Iowa, Nath is a graduate of Iowa Lakes Community College and Buena Vista University. Upon his graduation, he served in the Armstrong-Ringsted Community Schools as a special education teacher and in the Estherville Community School district as a kindergarten teacher. Additionally, Nath holds certification as an athletic coach for grades K-12.

“I’m excited about the changes that are underway for wellness services,” Nath says. “Our focus is on the overall health of the community – physical, mental, nutritional, emotional. We are finalizing our plans to remodel the space that GRMC most recently lent to The Galaxy Youth Center to create the new Paul W. Ahrens Wellness Center at Postels Community Health Park. Our group classes are meeting there now and it has been a goal for several years to provide these services under one roof.”

Nath notes that the majority of wellness services will move later this spring from the current location on the first floor of the Ahrens Medical Arts Building.

“We will have our pool classes in our current location and will also continue to offer a supervised exercise area at GRMC, but on a more limited scale,” says Nath. “The new location will offer many benefits, including upgrades to equipment to include functional exercise, and greater accessibility.”

Tom Sheets brings more than 26 years of law enforcement experience to his role as director of security, safety, and emergency preparedness for GRMC. Most recently, Sheets served 12 years as Poweshiek County Sheriff before coming to GRMC in December 2012.

“Certainly there are similarities between active law enforcement and administration and my new role at GRMC,” Sheets says. “This is particularly true with emergency preparedness. We’ll continue to strengthen the partnership between all our local emergency organizations – sheriff’s department, EMTs, police, and fire. GRMC has an excellent reputation as a role model across the state for being one of the best organizations when it comes to emergency preparedness, and that is thanks in part to the work Chad Nath performed under Suzanne Cooner’s leadership. I’ve worked closely with both of them during my time as Poweshiek County Sheriff.”

Sheets is a graduate of Montezuma High School and Northeast Missouri State University, now known as Truman State University. He holds a degree in law enforcement. He worked with the Poweshiek County Sheriff’s department from 1990 until November 2012.

“While there are similarities, there are differences,” says Sheets. “The focus of my work at GRMC is about creating and maintaining a safe environment in a variety of ways and to keep the organization ready for emergencies that our area might face.”