Rainy Lake Medical Center officials have added to the organization’s executive team with the hire of a new chief financial officer, or CFO.

Mike Katigbak, who has more than 20 years of experience in managing finance teams, comes to Borderland from the Las Vegas area. The new CFO assures those who warn him of harsh winters, that he knows what he signed up for.

“I found winter was a season I just missed,” Katigbak said. “If I could choose between searing desert heat and winter, I’ll take the freshness of the winter and beautiful changes in the seasons. For me, that’s very refreshing.”

Katigbak grew up in Toronto, Canada, and completed a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry. Having worked in the banking industry during the summer months and while he was going to school, Katigbak realized he favored pursuing a career in finance.

“I developed a passion for numbers versus molecules,” he said.

The biochemist switched gears and received a master’s in business administration. For the past several years, he’s been working in health insurance and hospital finance.

“I have a great appreciation for all areas of healthcare,” he said.

Settling in at RLMC

After spending about two weeks at RLMC, Katigbak said the organization is financially healthy.

“We’re going to continue working to bring (RLMC) to the next level,” he said. “We’re going to aim for perfection, that’s our aspiration… We’ll take that aspiration and make it practical. Every day is a constant, collaborative effort between our team and what we want to do. We’ll continue to strive for improvement.”

The CFO noted RLMC’s financial health is influenced by strong leaders with good, hardworking teams.

“I see how they want to conduct and build strong teams,” Katigbak said of the leadership and executive team, along with the board of trustees. “My goal for my fiscal services team is to have a mindset of establishing a way to check in with their individual goals for the week, the month, the year. It allows us all to talk the same talk… If we have the chance to do something a little bit better every day, over the year, everybody’s contributions really matter.”

Katigbak looks forward to his new role at RLMC, and gave a plug that he’s adding to the finance team.

“We’re in need of another accountant,” he said. “If anyone has experience and is looking for something new, contact our human resources department.”

Katigbak and his wife, Robin, have two grown sons Dylan and Matt. Dylan serves in the U.S. Army and Matt is looking to extend his experience in animation design, working for a Hollywood production film.

About RLMC

RLMC offers emergency care, surgery, cardiology rehab and diagnostics, chemo and infusion therapy, family medicine clinics, radiology, obstetrics and gynecology, therapy services, hosts sleep studies, laboratory services, orthopedics, swing bed care – both acute and skilled nursing.