Cascade Medical bids adieu to Commissioner Mall Boyd

After a decade, Mall Boyd is wrapping up her term on the Cascade Medical Board of Commissioners.

LEAVENWORTH—After a decade of dedicated service, Commissioner Mall Boyd bid farewell to her role on the Cascade Medical Board of Commissioners, marking the end of an era in community healthcare leadership.

“It has been a great pleasure to work with Mall. She focuses on what is best for patients, employees, and our community.  She is well-prepared with thoughtful opinions and perspective but continues to listen to others who may think differently. The result can be better thinking than any of us would have done individually,” said Board Commissioner Bruce Williams.

During her time on the board, Boyd worked with other commissioners to guide Cascade Medical through the pandemic and implement behavioral health services and the mobile clinic. 

“In addition to her depth of knowledge about health care, she brings a perspective that is pragmatic, intuitive and also curious. She is an excellent listener, always respectful, and brings thoughtful insights and wisdom to every deliberation,” said Cascade Medical Center CEO Diane Blake.

Before the pandemic, Boyd initiated community leader dinners at the hospital, which allowed the hospital to share its work with community representatives and hear feedback and ideas on how to better serve its district area.

“I think that was very beneficial. We had a lot of positive feedback…I think it really helped us as far as relations within the community,” said Boyd.

Boyd brought a lifetime of experience to the role. She worked as a personnel director, owned a local business with her husband, and was the Director of Marketing at Wenatchee Valley Medical Center, now Confluence Health, for 25 years. 

Additionally, she has served on many local boards, such as the Community Foundation of North Central Washington, Rotary Clubs, Icicle Creek Center for the Arts, and the school board.

Boyd moved from Estonia to Michigan when she was five years old. Growing up, she loved people and was always actively involved in different clubs and organizations.

“I tend to jump in with both feet,” said Boyd.

Boyd started her people-oriented career early on as a personnel director, but things took a 180-degree turn in 1972 when she and her husband moved to Leavenworth and bought a lumberyard. While the small town was an adjustment for Boyd, she quickly fell in love with the community's connectedness.

“We’d have morning coffee at John the Baker's with a lot of the other business community members and kind of solve the problems of the world in the community…People came and wanted to be involved in the community, and I see that continuing today,” said Boyd.

However, the repetition at the lumberyard led Boyd to strive for more community involvement, prompting her to join the school board when her son entered kindergarten. Boyd served on the board for eight years, overseeing and navigating the consolidation of the Peshastin-Dryden and Leavenworth school districts.

She and other board members stood their ground as they faced backlash for allowing the PD and Leavenworth students to choose a new mascot together as an act of inclusion.

“[A fellow board member] said, “Do you think we're doing the right thing?” and I said, “We are absolutely doing the right thing,” said Boyd. 

After selling the lumberyard, Boyd took a part-time job billing for the local clinic, was promoted to managing the clinic, and then, after some structural changes to the area’s hospitals, was offered a job as a marketing coordinator in Wenatchee.

“I certainly didn't have the necessary skill set. I hopefully developed that with time, but I've had a lot of good mentors, in my various various roles,” said Boyd.

Boyd stepped into the role with a learning attitude and focused on what she knew best: people. She helped the hospital organize its schedule to allow for new patients, and worked with doctors to improve their interpersonal skills. The elevated customer experience helped the clinic thrive. Boyd was promoted, and spent 25 years as the Marketing Director.

Boyd retired in 2014 and then discovered an opening for a commissioner position at Cascade. Now, ten years in, she’s ready to pass the baton to someone new.

“That's long enough. They need new ideas, new energy. We've got a really good board. I think there's a lot of interest in not only making sure that things are running well and such but also just in keeping up with current things,” said Boyd.

Taylor Caldwell: 509-433-7276 or taylor@ward.media