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44 44 HEALTHCARE NEWS 18 recent hospital, health system executive resignations By Ayla Ellison D ozens of hospital and health system executives have stepped down from their positions in 2022. Here are 18 hospital and health system executive resignations that occurred or were announced since June: 1. Lorenzo Suter abruptly le his role as CEO of UnityPoint Health-Sioux City, e Sioux City Journal reported July 21. e reason for Mr. Suter's departure was not provided. He had led the hospital since July 2021. 2. John Bishop, CEO of MemorialCare Long Beach (Calif.) Medical Center & Women's Hospital Long Beach, announced his resignation July 26. He will remain the hospitals' leader until a national search to identify his successor is completed. 3. Ike Mmeje, COO of MemorialCare Long Beach (Calif.) Medical Center & Women's Hospital Long Beach, announced his resignation July 26. He's leaving the role in August to pursue new opportunities. 4. Joe Sluka resigned as president and CEO of Bend, Ore.-based St. Charles Health System in July. He was named president and CEO of St. Charles Health System in December 2014. 5. In Alabama, Lynn Mergen resigned as CEO of Medical Center Barbour. He le the role for a new position as CEO of Lutheran Kosciusko Hospital in Warsaw, Ind. He'll begin the new position on Aug. 8. 6. Tuscaloosa, Ala.-based DCH Health System COO Paul Betz le his role July 29. Mr. Betz, who joined DCH Health System in February 2018, resigned to pursue a new career opportunity. 7. Lindy White le her role as president of Ballad Health's Northwestern Region operations and CEO of Holston Valley Medical Center in Kingsport, Tenn., in early July. She le Johnson City, Tenn.-based Ballad Health for a national role with Brentwood, Tenn.- based LifePoint Health. 8. Topeka-based University of Kansas Health System St. Francis Campus CEO Steve Anderson stepped down June 1. 9. Elmore Patterson, the administrator of Allen County Regional Hospital in Iola, Kan., and Anderson County Hospital in Garnett, Kan., submitted his resignation June 10. 10. Rod Harkleroad, RN, stepped down as CEO of Frye Regional Medical Center in Hickory, N.C., on July 8. He le the position to serve as market president of HighPoint Health System, a market of Brentwood, Tenn.-based LifePoint that spans middle Tennessee. 11. Chattanooga, Tenn.-based Erlanger Health System said June 10 that William Jackson Jr., MD, is stepping away from the helm. e health system named Jim Coleman president and CEO in late June. 12. Dr. Jason Studley resigned July 15 as CEO of Greenwood (Miss.) Leflore Hospital. 13. Mike Blauer resigned June 10 as administrator and CEO of Bear Lake Memorial Hospital in Montpelier, Idaho. 14. Augusta (Ga.) University Health System CEO Katrina Keefer stepped down in July. She le the health system to serve as CEO of DCH Health System in Tuscaloosa, Ala. 15. Joshua Gilmore, CEO of Iron County Medical Center in Pilot Knob, Mo., stepped down in July to begin a new role with a federally qualified health center in Alaska. 16. Jonathan Curtright, CEO of Columbia, Mo.-based MU Health Care, stepped down July 15 to join Oklahoma City-based OU Health as COO. 17. Cathy Fraser is leaving her role as chief human resources officer of Rochester, Minn.- based Mayo Clinic in August. She is leaving the organization to pursue a new opportunity. 18. Greenville, Miss.-based Delta Health System CEO Scott Christensen is stepping down at the end of July. n Duke LifePoint hospital at risk of losing Medicare contract By Molly Gamble W ilson (N.C.) Medical Center could lose its Medicare contract after state regulators identified immediate jeopardy to patients' health and safety stemming from three events in early 2022, The News & Observer reported July 8. Of the three incidents, two involve the deaths of patients admitted to the Duke LifePoint hospital in early 2022 — one died after a fall and sedation at the facility; the other died shortly after his heart monitor was disconnected. The third incident involved a suicidal patient who locked himself in a bathroom in the hospital's emergency room lobby and threatened to overdose on medication that regulators say the hospital should have confiscated. Wilson Medical Center CEO Mark Holyoak and Board Chair Janice Walston said that the survey conducted in May by the N.C. Department of Health Service Regulation "identified a few areas that required our attention and corrective action," The N&O reported. "We take every evaluation seriously; however, we do not believe the results of a single survey reflect the total quality of care offered at Wilson Medical Center." The 294-bed hospital submitted its corrective action plan to CMS June 28 and is awaiting a response from the agency. The Healthcare Foundation of Wilson owns 20 percent of the hospital. The other 80 percent is owned by Duke LifePoint, a joint venture between Brentwood, Tenn.-based LifePoint Health and Durham, N.C.-based Duke Health. n