Soniya Fidler named President of UCHealth Yampa Valley Medical Center

Experienced leader has held interim president position for past nine months.
By:
June 18, 2019
This is a photo of Soniya Fidler. She will become the next president of UCHealth Yampa Valley Medical Center on July 1, 2019.
Soniya Fidler

UCHealth and Yampa Valley Medical Center (YVMC) are naming Soniya Fidler as president of the community hospital in Steamboat Springs. Fidler has been serving as interim president since the former leader, Frank May, retired in 2018.

“Soniya is an experienced leader who has shown an ability to improve patient care and strengthen the hospital’s connection to the Steamboat Springs community and independent physicians,” said Kevin Unger, president and CEO of UCHealth Poudre Valley Hospital and Medical Center of the Rockies. “I am confident she will continue to put patients first while increasing the services available at YVMC.”

Fidler, who has also served as YVMC’s chief operating officer for the past three years, has led several major projects for the hospital including a new partnership with Steamboat Orthopaedic & Spine Institute to build an ambulatory surgery center. Fidler has also helped develop a relationship with Old Town Hot Springs to benefit patients and the community as well as a new partnership with Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield that enabled a more affordable insurance plan.

“Yampa Valley Medical Center is a wonderful resource to our community, but of course, it’s the people working inside these walls who bring the hospital to life and deliver excellent and compassionate patient care,” said Fidler. “I am humbled to be chosen to lead YVMC and to continue working alongside our wonderful employees and medical staff to benefit patients throughout northwest Colorado.”

YVMC’s interim CEO, Dr. Tom Downes, will continue to provide support during Fidler’s transition to full-time president in addition to his position as chief medical officer of UCHealth’s northern Colorado region. Downes has worked with Fidler to help strengthen ties to local providers and independent physician groups.

“It has been exciting to work so closely with physicians in Routt County as we focus on our common goals of coordinating care, lowering costs and improving the overall health of the community we serve,” said Downes. “With Soniya serving as YVMC president, I know the future of YVMC and health care in this region is bright.”

A native of Pittsburgh, Fidler has lived in Steamboat Springs since 2000 and has been with YVMC since 2005. Prior to being named chief operating officer, she served as chief human resources and compliance officer. Fidler holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration-finance from West Virginia University and master’s degree in organizational leadership-human resources management from Regis University.

UCHealth Yampa Valley Medical Center

About the author

Lindsey Reznicek is a communications specialist at UCHealth Yampa Valley Medical Center in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. She has spent the last ten years working in marketing and communications in health care, an industry she never considered but one to which she's contributed through her work in media relations, executive messaging and internal communications. She considers it an honor to interact with patients and write about their experiences; it’s what keeps her coming back to work each day.

A native of Nebraska, Lindsey received a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism, with a focus on public relations, from the A.Q. Miller School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Kansas State University – she bleeds purple.

She could see a Broadway musical every week, is a huge animal lover, enjoys a good shopping trip, and likes spending time in the kitchen. Lindsey and her husband have two daughters and enjoy hiking in the summer and skiing all winter long.