By Joe Morey
News Editor
The LCO Tribal Governing Board (TGB) welcomes Sarah Cormell as the new LCO Health Center Director. Cormell begins her employment with the tribe on Feb. 19, 2019.
“Sarah brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in administration and Indian Health Service,” said Rose Gokee, LCO TGB member. “We felt that based on her education and her prior experience, she will only help to improve health care in our community.”
Cormell previously worked as director for the St. Croix Tribe’s clinic for nine years. She is a Hayward High School graduate and went on to achieve her Master’s Degree focused in social work from the UW-Madison. Sarah has been a lifelong resident of Lac Courte Oreilles.
“The tribe is fortunate to have Sarah fill the position that was previously held by Jacqueline Bahe,” Gokee said. “Unfortunately, Bahe was not able to commit to her contract.”
Tweed Shuman, LCO TGB member, said he was very impressed with Cormell.
“We hired Sarah a year ago to do our clinic assessment and at that time I had concerns with falling patient numbers and patient care, and unpaid medical bills,” Shuman said. “Over the last year that I worked at the clinic I felt we were moving away from patient care and chasing the almighty dollar. It was my goal to be liaison when I got elected so that I could address these issues. Sarah’s assessment reflected what I had thought, or my concerns. I am very happy we hired her.”