Search for FFH CEO to begin

The search for a permanent Chief Executive Officer for Franklin Foundation Hospital is set to begin after an announcement was made yesterday at the board’s monthly meeting that the process was about to enter its initial phase.
The announcement was made by Quorum Health Resources Regional Vice President Donald Smithburg and he said the search for CEO candidates would begin in the next few weeks and a short list of candidates could be brought before the FFH board by the end of the summer.
Smithburg said the process would begin with a QHR representative visiting the board and ascertaining what kind of CEO the group is looking for to lead the hospital forward.
“An executive recruiter is brought in to visit with the board and other key stakeholders both in the community and with the management and medical staff and get an idea of the kinds of attributes they are interested in in a permanent CEO,” Smithburg said. “Ideally, those attributes are going to mirror those of Mr. Cudworth in terms of education, experience and integrity. The search typically takes about six months so we will be officially launching it June 1.”
Smithburg said, when the field is narrowed down to a handful of qualified candidates, as many of the aforementioned stakeholders as possible will have a chance to meet the short list in person.
“Candidates typically come over the course of several days,” Smithburg said. “They have a set agenda as to who they are going to meet with. Typically it’s with members of the board. It’s typically a set agenda that includes board members, administrative leadership, medical staff leadership and, depending on the circumstances, maybe some community folks who aren’t represented on the board.”
Current FFH Interim CEO Craig Cudworth said one of the most important attributes of a permanent CEO for a small hospital such as FFH is that they be a permanent member of the community.
“The CEO needs to be embedded in the community,” Cudworth said. “Because I am temporary, it is not possible for me to become a part of the community as I would like to be. In the long run, this is good for the CEO to be part of the community. A permanent CEO can do that. The only other thing I’d like to add is that the CEO serves at the pleasure of the board here and is responsible directly to the board.”
As mentioned earlier in the article, according to Smithburg, the process officially begins June 1 and could take up to 6 months.