Chris Vickers retires from Community Springs Healthcare Facility

• 05 January 2024

Chris Vickers, longtime administrator of Community Springs Healthcare Facility, is retiring.

Vickers embodies the spirit of El Dorado Springs. Born and raised on the family farm near El Dorado Springs, Vickers graduated from El Dorado Springs High School in 1980. He briefly ventured to Springfield to pursue studies at Missouri State University. His healthcare journey started soon after as the supervisor for maintenance, housekeeping and laundry at Community Springs Healthcare Facility from 1984 to 1985.

Relocating to Houston, Missouri, Vickers took on a managerial role with The Service Master Company at Texas County Memorial Hospital. He later transferred to Breech Medical Center in Lebanon, spending nine years there before joining Citizens Memorial and returning to El Dorado Springs in August 1999 as the administrator of Community Springs Healthcare Facility.

Over the next 24 years, Vickers played a pivotal role in the facility’s growth, overseeing the construction of a 4,000 sq. ft. addition, a new sprinkler system, an emergency generator, a stroll garden, many interior renovations and a new front canopy addition. Under his guidance, Community Springs has grown to become a 120-bed long-term care skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility. Adjacent to it is the Community Springs Senior Living Community, which are independent living apartments.

Under Vickers’s guidance, Community Springs has earned recognition as an award-winning facility, securing the Bronze Commitment to Quality Award from the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living for meeting quality and service standards. The facility consistently received four and five-star ratings (out of five stars) over the years from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) based on quality measures, health inspections and staffing. In 2014, Vickers won the Missouri Health Care Association (MHCA) David Duncan Administrator of the Year Award.

Beyond his professional accomplishments, Vickers actively participated in community organizations like the Optimist Club and the El Dorado Springs Chamber of Commerce, where he served as president.

Vickers and his wife, Vickie, live on a farm near his family's land. Vickie Vickers is the director of operations, specialty clinics at Citizens Memorial Hospital in Bolivar.

The Vickers family includes two children, Ashley Durham, MBA and her husband, Dr. Micheal Durham of Lebanon, Missouri, and Quade Vickers, FNP-C and his wife, Jenna Vickers, CPA, of Nixa, Missouri. Well-known for their dedication and service, the Vickers family has left an indelible mark on the El Dorado Springs community.

Stepping into Vickers's shoes is Vautrin Cadle, currently completing the CMH administrator-in-training program. Vickers officially retired Jan. 2, 2024.