Author: Brandia Deatherage | Published: October 1st, 2010

    The Beaufort Regional Health System hospital board voted to hire, full-time, Susan Gerard as Chief Executive Officer this morning at a Special Joint Meeting of the BCMC Board of Trustees and the BRHS Authority Board. Before a unanimous public vote, the board went into closed session "to discuss the performance of Susan Gerard as acting CEO," said BRHS hospital board chairwoman Alice Mills Sadler.

    Gerard has effectively been acting CEO of BRHS since Bill Bedsole resigned from the post at the end of June, as she was the next administrator in the line of succession. Since then, she has also maintained her previous duties as BRHS Medical Practice Administrator. On July 13, when the hospital board voted to continue with the succession plan, rather than employ an outside "interim CEO or management team," Gerard was promised an unsubstantiated pay increase.

    As full-time CEO, Gerard will relinquish the post of medical practice administrator. She will recruit and hire a replacement as quickly as possible, said Sadler. Her new salary and benefits package will be determined by the BRHS Executive Committee, in closed session, at the next hospital board meeting, said Sadler.

BRHS hospital board member Hood Richardson, left, shares his thoughts on appointing Susan Gerard as full-time CEO, as the new CFO Richard Reif, right, listens.

    BRHS hospital board member Hood Richardson, who fought, tooth-and-nail, to overturn ex-BRHS Chairman Sandy Hardy's push to import a CEO from University Health Systems, is very optimistic about having Gerard stay on in that capacity.

    "I think for the employees of the hospital, this brings a lot of stability to them. They have someone that they can look to now who is the leader, who can make the final decision," said Richardson. "And this is important for the employees. I know they've been sort of hung out on a limb up until now--but I ask each one of them to please help Susan, work with Susan. I think she's going to do a really good job for us. And, above all, we need their loyalty toward her in order for her to be successful in doing her job. This is a good move."

    Gerard did not attend today's special meeting. BRHS's new Chief Financial Officer Richard Reif and new hospital board member Howard Cadmus made their first public appearances at the meeting; though neither spoke, or acted. New hospital board member Suzanne Gray did not attend.

    This article provided courtesy of our sister site: Beaufort County Now

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