FARMINGTON — Trampas Hutches has been promoted to the newly created regional president role for the Mountain Region within the MaineHealth organization.

He joined Franklin Community Health Network as president in January 2020, just a few months before COVID-19 hit Maine and dramatically changed the health care landscape across the country.

As of Jan. 1, Hutches oversees the three most western hospitals in the MaineHealth organization: Stephens Memorial Hospital/Western Maine Health Care in Norway, Memorial Hospital in North Conway, New Hampshire, and Franklin Memorial Hospital/Franklin Community Health Network in Farmington. He is also tasked with further developing regional affiliate relationships with MaineGeneral Health and St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center.

As Franklin’s president, Hutches led the organization back to financial stability for the first time since 2014. He helped improve recruitment processes, hiring over 65 new providers while maintaining a less than 4% medical staff turnover rate and improving patient access to care. Additionally, he reduced care team turnover by over 10% and increased team engagement by 20%, per Gallup Engagement Survey results.

“The Franklin Community Health Network board of directors is grateful to Hutches for his numerous contributions, particularly his unwavering leadership during the challenges of the pandemic,” Sheena Bunnell, chairperson of the Franklin Community Health Network board of directors, said.

Though Hutches will no longer directly manage operations at Franklin, he remains closely involved with local leadership as they work together to further integrate with MaineHealth and their regional partner hospitals. “The vision for the regional structure is to work more collaboratively with health care entities in the region to provide the best possible care close to home for our patients,” Hutches said.

Hutches’ new regional appointment requires FCHN to identify a new local president. While a search committee and process are underway, Hutches has named Chief Operating Officer Barbara Sergio, as interim president. Sergio transitioned into the role of FCHN interim president effective Jan. 1. Hutches and Sergio will continue to work collaboratively over the next several months to ensure a smooth leadership transition and presidential search process.

Sergio joined FCHN in 2019 as the senior director of quality and patient safety. Since then, she has risen through the ranks and was promoted to chief operating officer in January 2021. She took on a breadth of responsibilities, including a stint as an interim chief nursing officer. She organized and led the FCHN community COVID-19 vaccine clinic, stepped in to lead the facilities department during a departmental restructure and successfully revitalized public health programming at the Healthy Community Coalition. As interim president, she is tasked with executing new strategic objectives for the organization, community leadership and managing day-to-day operations.

The search for a new president is expected to conclude mid-February, with initial interviews beginning in the coming weeks. A public announcement will be made once a candidate has been selected.

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