New hospital chief executive officer not coming

Posted 11/23/10

Cardwell, the successful applicant for the position, assured the board during a formal interview that he was interested in taking the job. He later stated he planned to start in early November, but that was delayed by a trip to Thailand for Cardwell …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

E-mail
Password
Log in

New hospital chief executive officer not coming

Posted

Search committee starts from square oneAnd then there were none. Paul Cardwell, who signed an agreement to become the next chief executive officer for Powell Valley Healthcare, notified officials last week he no longer plans to come to Powell.

Cardwell, the successful applicant for the position, assured the board during a formal interview that he was interested in taking the job. He later stated he planned to start in early November, but that was delayed by a trip to Thailand for Cardwell and his wife to finalize the adoption of a baby girl.

Cardwell signed the agreement with HealthTech Management Services (formerly Brim Healthcare), which provides management services for Powell Valley Healthcare. On Wednesday, he told Bob Brendgard of HealthTech that moving to Powell wasn't going to work for his family.

Robin Roling, interim chief executive officer, said the other candidate for the position, Richard Polheber, has since taken a position with another hospital.

Roling said she didn't know any of the details of Cardwell's reason for not coming.

“What I do know is, they're not moving,” she said. “But it's better to know that now before he gets here than to have him get here and decide it didn't fit.”

Roling, who initially agreed to fill the position vacated by Rod Barton for a few weeks, said she doesn't know whether she will continue to serve as interim CEO or if another temporary leader will step in while a new search is conducted.

Brendgard previously told the Powell Valley Healthcare board that a staff person would be named as interim chief executive officer if the position vacancy was expected to be short in duration. If it was expected to continue for a lengthy period, a temporary CEO would be hired.

Powell Valley Healthcare Board President Dr. Mark Wurzel said he was disappointed to hear Cardwell changed his mind.

“We all felt really good about him,” he said. “Now we have to start the whole process again. The other candidate has long since taken another position, so we're truly back to starting from scratch.”

Wurzel expected to take up the issue of a new search and what to do in the interim, at the board's regular meeting on Monday evening.

He noted that Dave Bonner, who helped with the search last time as a community representative, will be busy with legislative matters and can't participate this time. Bonner is publisher of the Powell Tribune.

The makeup of the search committee could change further due to other conflicts and changes, Wurzel added.

Comments