Dr. Pimple has served as CEO of Newman Regional Health since 2023, becoming the first woman to lead the 25-bed critical access hospital, which she has positioned as a regional hub for specialty services in rural Kansas despite the financial pressures facing approximately 87% of the state’s rural hospitals. Dr. Pimple secured a strategic affiliation with Kansas City-based The University of Kansas Health System and Lawrence, Kan.-based LMH Health to expand local service lines while preserving independent governance. In addition, she invested in cardiovascular lab upgrades and a high-speed CT scanner to bring advanced cardiac care closer to home, including reaccreditation for percutaneous coronary intervention from the American College of Cardiology, a rare distinction for a critical access hospital. She secured nearly $600,000 in grant funding to advance telehealth infrastructure, maternal health services and a free laundry program addressing social determinants of health through the community care team. Newman Regional Health has earned recognition as a Chartis “Top 100 Critical Access Hospital,” a CMS “Birthing-Friendly Hospital” designation and a “Gold Level” designation from Kansas’s “Fourth Trimester Initiative,” among numerous other quality distinctions. Dr. Pimple continues to teach as adjunct faculty at Emporia State University, where she championed development of a simulation hospital to strengthen nursing education and rural workforce recruitment. She previously served as Newman Regional Health’s chief administrative officer and chief quality officer.
