From an early age, newly hired L.V. Stabler CEO Jason Studley said he’s always admired John Wayne.

“Wayne always had the mentality of ‘we got a job to do, so let’s get in and do it,'” Studley said. “I have always respected that.”

Inside Studley’s office, the walls are adorned with John Wayne memorabilia-from a John Wayne wall clock to three framed black and white photographs of the silver-screen star.

It’s a fixation that carries over into his professional life. Studley’s own plans for L.V. Stabler seem to mimic Wayne’s we-got-a-job-to-do mentality.

“I think there is a great capacity for growth here, and that’s what we are looking at doing,” Studley said. “Right now, we need to focus on bringing more core physicians to the hospital.”

Core physicians, Studley explained, are the doctors patients go to before being referred to a specialist. Finding space for these doctors to work out of will be an important part of improving the level of healthcare Stabler provides.

“We can handle the healthcare needs of our community here,” Studley said. “We want to let people know that our hospital is state of the art, and you can get the same if not better care by staying at home.”

Keeping locals closer to home for their healthcare needs, instead of making them commute to either Montgomery or Mobile, will keep these tax dollars flowing in to local coffers, Studley said.

“The more support we get, the more we are able to reinvest in the hospital to provide more services for our patients,” Studley said.

Studley comes from Augusta, GA, where he was CEO for Trinity Hospital, a 231-bed facility.