Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 6C
tReporter
November 2, 2016
New CEO says Navicent to find best use for MCH
BY RICHARD
DUMAS
forsyth@mymcr.net
Monroe County
Hospital (MCH)
interim CEO
Darren Pearce
said Navicent will
announce soon its
plans for the future
of the Forsyth facil
ity.
In an exclusive
interview with the
Reporter on Oct.
14, Pearce said
Navicent, which
took over manage
ment services of
MCH in July while
appointing Pearce
interim CEO, said
the Macon-based
medical giant is
going through a
process to try to
determine its long
term goals. Pearce
said Navicent hopes
to have something
more concrete to
present to Hospital
Authority of Monroe
County mombors
soon The Hospital Interim Monroe County Hospital CEO Darren Pearce, who doubles as the interim CEO at The Medical Center of Peach Coun
Authority and Pearce sa ' c * finding a full-time CEO could happen at MCH “sooner rather than later.” (Photo/Richard Dumas)
met on Tuesday, Oct. The couple, who have able and happy in their
25 in closed session to been together for four jobs,
discuss strategic plan- vears. has three teenage “I try to get out there
nmg.
“Right now we’re still
trying to percolate what
the strategy is going to
be, but always our goal
is to keep health care as
local as we can,” Pearce
said. “And so, our over
all strategy is to keep a
local presence in Monroe
County. The hospital is
here, and we would like
to do everything we can
to maintain what we
have and improve what
we’ve got, improve the
quality and improve the
performance of the hos
pital and just try to give
the best possible care for
the citizens of Monroe
County.”
Pearce, who also has
served as interim CEO
at The Medical Center
of Peach County since
May 2015, said Navicent
tapped him as MCH
interim CEO because he
specializes in the opera
tions of small hospitals.
“Everywhere I’ve kind
of gone, I’ve been able
to improve the pro
cesses and improve the
financial stability of the
facility,” Pearce said.
“So I think they wanted
me to kind of come up
here and do the same
thing. They brought me
up here as an interim.
We’re actually still look
ing to find somebody to
come on a permanent
role, but my role here is
to kind of give guidance
and to push us in the
right direction. If they
bring somebody else in
anytime soon, then help
guide them and make
sure we’re going in the
direction that we want.”
But Pearce, who
remains in his role at
the Peach facility among
other Navicent proj
ects, said he may not
be in charge at MCH
for long. When asked
about the timetable for
identifying a permanent
CEO, Pearce responded,
“We’re probably looking
at sooner rather than
later.”
Since taking over in
late July, Pearce said he
has averaged spending
about 20 hours per week
in Monroe County.
“But we’re always
working on it. I’m a
phone call away, and I’m
e-mailing constantly,”
Pearce said. “So it’s non
stop. It’s just I think it
would be nice to have
someone sitting in this
chair all the time. And
of course our goal is
to find someone on a
permanent basis to be
here.”
Pearce also commutes
many weekends to
Florida, where his wife
Joanne lives in Destin.
The couple, who have
been together for four
years, has three teenage
daughters, Meredith,
17, Kate, 15, and Sarah,
12. When Pearce visits
his wife in Florida, he is
going back to where he
was raised. He grew up
in Tallahassee, Fla. and
remains a Florida State
football season ticket
holder. Pearce and his
wife are both Advanced
Open Water Divers with
over 200 dives to their
credit.
After completing high
school, Pearce spent four
years in the U.S. Navy
as a torpedo weaponeer
on a submarine.
Pearce said of his mili
tary experience: “When I
got out of school, basical
ly I needed a little direc
tion, and the military
afford me that direction.
Plus it paid for school.
I got the G.I. Bill. And
I will tell you, the Navy
was the best thing that
ever happened to me.”
After attending nurs
ing school at Valdosta
State, Pearce started
his career at South
Georgia Medical Center
as a neuro intensive
care nurse before being
promoted to director
of nursing at Clinch
Memorial Hospital.
After working as a
director of nursing at
several other facilities,
he moved to Macon
to become the direc
tor of nursing for
Health South Central
Georgia Rehabilitation
Hospital, which is now
operated by Navicent.
In 2013, Pearce was
named the facility’s
Executive Director.
He is also the former
president of the Central
Georgia region of the
Georgia Organization
of Nurse Leaders and
has previously received
Navicent’s Quarterly
Leadership Award as
well as the Superhero
Team Award for clinical
excellence.
Pearce said the Monroe
County community has
been very receptive to
him since he took over
for previous CEO Kay
Floyd in July.
“I’ve been supported by
everybody,” Pearce said.
“The community has
been fantastic. I’ve had
people come by just to
say ‘Hello’, so it’s been
great. I can’t say I’ve
had a bad moment here
yet. Everybody’s been
very warm and recep
tive. I think everybody
has the same goal. We
want it to be successful.”
Pearce said in addition
to improving the hospi
tal’s finances, another
of his chief focuses has
been on ensuring the
MCH staff is comfort -
and visit every time I’m
here,” Pearce said. “I
try to get out and walk
the floors and see some
things, and we’re try
ing to recognize what
some of the issues are,
some of the things that
are going to make their
jobs easier. Would I say
they (the MCH staff) can
actually quantify every
thing we’re doing right
now? Probably not. But I
would say in time you’ll
start seeing that. One
of our goals, and this is
something I believe, if
your staff is not happy,
you’re not going any
where. So I believe this
happy staff is going to
lead to happy patients,
which is going to help
the bottom line.”
While no actual posi
tions have been trimmed
under Pearce’s watch,
MCH did recently make
a significant change
in the financial staff.
Navicent’s Judy Ware
took over as MCH’s chief
financial officer several
weeks ago replacing
Bill Storck, who had
been at MCH for about
two years. Ware also
works as the CFO at
the Putnam General
Hospital.
Pearce said of the
move: “We wanted to
make sure that we
understand exactly
what’s going on and
sometimes fresh eyes
help.”
In addition to the
shake-up in the hospital
staff, Pearce said family
practice physician Dr.
Kameisha Williams-
Thomas left her prac
tice in the hospital’s
neighboring Medical
Office Building about
six weeks ago, and he is
currently seeking to fill
Thomas’ vacancy.
“She has moved on
to another company,”
Pearce said of Thomas.
She went somewhere
south of here. She was
just given another
opportunity and she
chose to take that.”
Despite the void,
Pearce said he doesn’t
want to rush to hire
Thomas’ replacement.
“We’re trying to deter
mine that strategy and
what we want to do
there as far as physician
and placement,” he said.
“We just don’t want to
run out there and find
somebody, put them in
there and not be suc
cessful. We want them
to be successful, so we’re
trying to take our time a
little bit.”
Pearce said the hos
pital’s state-of-the-art
office building, which is
less than five years old,
is a major recruiting
selling point.
“It’s a beautiful office
building,” Pearce said.
“You can do anything
with that. I would think
that anybody who came
up here would be happy
with that space.”
Pearce said his biggest
challenge as interim
CEO is not fixing the
hospital’s financial situ
ation, which includes
a year-to-date loss of
$2.2 million through 11
months of fiscal year
2016, but trying to find
MCH’s best niche in the
midstate medical com
munity.
Pearce said, “What can
we do very well? And
so, once we determine
that, that will help with
the financials. We want
to get the staff truly
bought into whatever
that niche is. It’s never
just one thing. You can’t
just come in and fix the
financials. It’s a whole
thing. You have to build
a relationship with the
physicians in the com
munity. You have to
build a relationship
with the community.
You have to get the staff
to believe that there’s
something going to hap
pen here that’s going to
be a positive. And fix
the financials of course,
fix whatever other
issues we may have,
use this opportunity for
education for what the
changes in health care
may be. Because I mean
it’s not going to be like
it was. Health care is
changing, evolving, very
quickly. We’re going
through some processes
now that we’ve never
seen before, and we’re
all trying to learn our
way here and trying to
figure out where we can
use the changes that is
going to be to our best
interests here at Monroe
County.”
A joint committee com
posed of Navicent and
Hospital Authority of
Monroe County repre
sentatives met for the
first time on Tuesday,
Oct. 25. The commit
tee includes: Pearce,
Navicent CFO Rhonda
Perry, Navicent board
member Wimberly
Treadwell and three
members of the Hospital
Authority of Monroe
County, chairman
Tony Ussery, Marion
McMillian and James
Vaughn.
Pearce said he’s tried
to involve MCH staff
members into his think
ing process by holding
a town hall meeting at
a staff picnic so employ
ees could ask questions.
He said he understands
the concerns that staff
members might be feel
ing about the change in
leadership at the top.
He said, “Usually
when you’re coming into
a situation like we are,
at that point and time,
everybody’s kind of like,
‘Well, what’s going to
happen?’ Everybody’s
a little scared, a little
nervous, and what we
want to do is make sure
everybody knows that
we’re coming in and we
have the best interests
of the hospital and their
best interests at heart.
So I can understand. If I
was them, I’d be nervous
too. But we tried to be
upfront.”
While Pearce declined
to get into specifics
about MCH’s strategy
moving forward, he said
things are going as well
as can be expected less
than three months
into the new agree
ment.
Pearce said, “You
never know what
you’re going to find.
So there’s some
things that I’m kind
of like: ‘Well that
was unexpected.’
But some of the
stuff is just very
expected. There
has been nothing
that’s made me go:
‘We can’t overcome
this.’”
In other Hospital
Authority of Monroe
County news:
• Monroe County
Hospital chief
financial officer
Judy Ware said on
Tuesday, Oct. 25 she
does not yet have
the hospital’s final
fiscal year 2016
financial informa
tion due to recent
turnover in MCH’s
financial office.
MCH’s FY 2016
ended on Sept. 30,
2016. Ware said ten
tative figures indicate a
more than $700,000 loss
for August and about a
$3 million loss for FY
2016. Ware, a Navicent: -
based CFO who was
appointed by interim
CEO Darren Pearce,
took over last month at
MCH, replacing outgo
ing CFO Bill Storck.
Ware said there are still
some audit and contrac
tual adjustments that
need to be completed
before final FY 2016
financial information is
available.
• MCH CEO Darren
Pearce said the hospital
needs to replace both of
its air handling units.
He said the total cost of
buying new units will be
about $400,000.
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