William Kiefer became the hospital’s CEO two years ago. While he didn’t directly address the police investigation that shocked the community, he did say ORHC delved into what caused it and put systems in place to prevent a similar incident from happening again.

In January 2023, the Ottumwa Police Department said Devin Caraccio, a registered nurse, sexually assaulted multiple patients while working at ORHC. In October 2022, Caraccio was found dead from an accidental overdose in the hospital.

On Thursday, Kiefer discussed the hospital’s mission, new additions to the staff, and putting to rest some assertions he says are incorrect.

One example that Kiefer brought up was the hospital’s cleanliness. While Kiefer admitted ORHC had a reputation for being a dirty facility, that has completely changed now.

“I never walked into a dirtier facility but now I would put this place up against any facility…now, the floors sparkle.”

Kiefer asked the attending community leaders to share the information he was giving so as to be an opposing voice to negative comments. The ORHC CEO also vowed to keep working to make the hospital a place the community can trust.

“We’ve set a good foundation. Now we have years of execution ahead of us.”