Connections Through the Generations
The connections you make follow you through life, and that’s no more evident than for a trio of Bengals: Raquel Reese Anderson, Sandee Gehrke, and Doug Crabtree.
Born in Boise, Anderson moved to Colorado with her parents when she was just six months old. Gehrke, meanwhile, had decided to pursue an M.B.A. focused on health administration at the University of Colorado Denver after earning her bachelor’s in healthcare administration from Idaho State University. Anderson and Gehrke’s parents had gone to graduate school together, and, in need of work while she pursued her graduate studies, Gehrke stepped in to be a nanny for the then-two-year-old Anderson.
“As a child, Raquel was curious and perceptive,” said Gehrke. “She seemed to understand the world and the hearts in it, far beyond her years.”
“I looked up to her from when I was little, and I wanted to be like Sandee when I grew up,” said Anderson.
Gehrke spent a year and a half looking after Anderson. After completing her master’s at CU Denver, Gehrke began her career in healthcare administration, first in Denver and later in Las Vegas.
Enter Crabtree. A seasoned healthcare administrator, Crabtree took the helm as Chief Executive Officer of Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center (EIRMC) in Idaho Falls in 1999. In 2010, he needed to fill the Chief Operating Officer position at EIRMC, hiring Gehrke for the post.
“It’s fun to see the influence that you may have had on somebody, and know that you’re making a difference. ”
Crabtree and Gehrke worked together for close to four years. Gehrke took the next step in her career as Vice President of Operations at St.Luke’s Health System in Boise in 2014. Crabtree capped off his career – or so he thought – and retired in 2018.
“Doug was a leader and a mentor and a boss that really led with authenticity, vulnerability, and integrity,” Gehrke said. “You could see it in everything that Doug did in that hospital. It showed me the boss I wanted to be.”
Just a few short months into retirement, Crabtree was selected as the healthcare administration program’s first Executive in Residence at ISU. From there, he moved on to serving as a Clinical Assistant Professor in the program.
“I was delighted to join the faculty and begin teaching about an industry that I had loved for the previous 30 years,” Crabtree said. “I loved healthcare administration, loved working in the hospital. I loved working with great people like Sandee, and hundreds of doctors and employees. I never thought I’d find anything that I liked as much as I did being in the hospital.”
Back to Anderson, after graduating from high school, it was on to college, and Idaho State University fit the bill. Perfectly.
“I’ve always been an Idaho baby. I’ve just always wanted to come back,” said Anderson. “I was looking for a healthcare administration program. I wanted to explore and learn something new. And then I was also looking to be a part of a track team at the college level.”
Over the years, Gehrke and Anderson stayed in contact.
“Sandee’s always supported me in everything,” Anderson said. “She made it to my high school graduation in Colorado. Sandee’s just a solid rock that has always been a part of my life.”
And in 2022, Anderson took a class from her mentor’s mentor. “I met Raquel, and then connected the dots that she and Sandee knew each other, and Sandee and I knew each other, so it’s just been a lot of fun,” said Crabtree. “Connections are tight in the healthcare world.”
In 2024, Anderson graduated with her bachelor’s degree in healthcare administration, and in 2025, she earned an MBA from Idaho State. Now, she’s ventured into the field on her own, but she’s still leaning on her support network, which began when she was a couple of years old.
“It’s exciting knowing that they’re in my corner,” said Anderson. “Anytime I have a question, I’ve called Doug, I’ve called Sandee, I’ve called a lot of the healthcare professors at ISU. That’s the beautiful thing about networking, that’s the beautiful thing about healthcare, is there’s always more to learn.”
“It’s really fun to see the influence that you may have had on somebody, and know that you’re making a difference, even when you’re not making a difference,” Gehrke said.