During his tenure as Centre Community Hospital president, Lance H. Rose has overseen everything from improved services to herding cows from the parking lot.

Although the 57-year-old family man is looking forward to his upcoming retirement, he still has fond memories of the more than 17 years he's spent at the State College hospital.

Recently, Rose announced his plans to retire, and the board is now going through the process of selecting a new president.

During his career at Centre Community, Rose has watched the hospital grow.

When he first came to the hospital in 1983 as executive director, the hospital was smaller and had fewer programs. Since Rose became the hospital's president in 1990, he has worked to make numerous improvements.

Under Rose's administration, the hospital increased the number of medical staff members and widened the breadth of services offered to patients.

Rose was born in Philadelphia in 1943, but most of his childhood was spent in the South. He graduated in 1961 from a Pennsylvania high school and then moved to Mississippi, where he earned a two-year degree from a community college. After that, Rose joined the military, spending some time in Vietnam.

"I think my experiences benefited the hospital as an organization and a caregiver. They give me a unique experience and insight," Rose said.

He went on to earn a degree from the University of Maryland and two graduate degrees from the University of Pittsburgh. Rose said he opted out of being a doctoral candidate at Penn State so he could spend time with his family.

"I decided I would rather watch my kids grow up than spend every weekend doing research," he said Rose does not regret that decision.

"Besides," he added with a wink, "You don't need a Ph.D. to run a hospital anyway."

While being a hospital administrator is a serious job, Rose is able to look at some of his experiences with a laugh — and working in a rural area has given Rose some unique memories.

When cattle wandered through an open gate at the Penn State fields and made their way into the hospital parking lot, Rose was called in to help.

"I was paged over the hospital paging system to help come round the cattle from the parking lot," he said.

Rose said hospital administration was not his first choice when he was choosing a career, but it is something he has grown to love.

"I wanted to be a professional photographer, but it was the mid-'70s and I had three small children and a mortgage so I opted not to pursue that," he said.

Rose still pursues photography and has taken many of the photos that line the walls of his office. The pictures help alleviate the stresses of his job, he said.

Rose tries to take time during the day to focus on things other than healthcare.

"I don't sit around and listen to the sound of waves crashing," Rose said, laughing. "But I think about a photo I want to shoot, or mat, or print — or a place I want to go to take pictures."

Rose, who will remain in office until the hospital's board finds a new president, said his retirement has been in the planning for several years and he wants to make the transition process as smooth as possible for the hospital.

"There are two things critical of a chief executive of an organization," Rose said, "to put in place a strong management team to ensure ongoing viability of the organization and to provide for an orderly transition of leadership."

He hopes to accomplish both. Of all his experiences in the hospital, Rose will miss the people the most and he hopes they will remember him fondly.

"I hope people will remember me as being fair and for making the best decisions I could for the benefit of the hospital and the community," Rose said.