Eric Swanson Named a 2026 “Rural Hospital CEO to Know”

Adventist Health Tillamook announces that Eric Swanson, MBA, FACHE, NRP, President of Adventist Health Tillamook, has been recognized by Becker’s Hospital Review as one of the nation’s “Rural Hospital and Health System Presidents and CEOs to Know” for 2026. Swanson is among 146 rural healthcare leaders nationwide honored this year and is one of only two leaders recognized in Oregon.

The Becker’s list highlights rural hospital and health system executives who are expanding access to care, recruiting and retaining skilled caregivers, and investing in facilities through thoughtful renovation and new construction. These leaders are recognized for managing extraordinary complexity while serving as community anchors that balance financial pressures and workforce challenges while driving growth and improving patient experience.

Swanson’s career reflects a deep commitment to rural healthcare leadership. He has spent his professional life serving the Tillamook community, beginning as a teen volunteer and progressing through more than 20 roles before becoming president of Adventist Health Tillamook, a Critical Access Hospital on Oregon’s north coast. A licensed paramedic since 1989, he has guided the organization through some of the most demanding conditions facing rural healthcare, including pandemics, wildfires, winter storms, and flooding in one of the most disaster‑prone counties on the West Coast. He also serves on the Tillamook County Emergency Management Committee.

Among his most significant recent accomplishments, Becker’s noted Swanson’s leadership in reopening the Tillamook Kidney Center in 2025, restoring local dialysis services after a previous closure forced medically vulnerable patients to travel long distances multiple times per week for life‑sustaining treatment. He also led a $22 million surgical services expansion and championed passage of a $14.4 million bond to develop a health education facility at Tillamook Bay Community College, strengthening the rural healthcare workforce pipeline. Under his leadership, Adventist Health Tillamook achieved a 4‑star CMS hospital rating in 2025 and received the 2025 Oregon Rural Health Excellence Award for its innovative community‑based nursing services.

The full list of 2026 honorees and individual profiles are available through Becker’s Hospital Review. Inclusion on the list is based on editorial research and peer nominations; organizations and individuals cannot pay for recognition.