CALIFORNIA RESIDENT NAMED AS NEW CHIEF AT ST. FRANCIS

John E. Fidler, a former chief executive officer at medical facilities in California and Florida, was named the new president of St. Francis Medical Center Monday.

Fidler, 52, who lives in Los Angeles, begins his duties here Jan. 2.

He was one of 437 candidates for the St. Francis presidency and succeeds John J. Keusenkothen, who served as president of St. Francis from 1976 until his retirement in September.

Fidler most recently served as chief executive officer of Daniel Freeman Hospitals, a two-facility, 606-bed system that included hospitals in Inglewood and Marina del Rey, Calif.

From 1983 until 1989, he was the president and chief executive officer of St. Mary's Medical Center, a 358-bed facility in West Palm Beach, Fla.

St. Francis has 264 licensed beds.

The announcement was made Monday by Harry Rediger, vice president of the St. Francis Board of Directors. Several other members of the board and members of the hospital administration were also present. Fidler did not attend.

In a telephone interview from his home, Fidler said Cape Girardeau offered the type of family- and academically-oriented community he and his family were looking for.

"We were taken with St. Francis, the quality of the hospital and the caring environment you can feel as you talk with the people," he said.

"We're from the Midwest originally. We wanted to return to our Midwestern roots and values. We also wanted to be part of a community where we could make a difference in improving the overall quality of life."

He said Cape Girardeau also offered many benefits over Los Angeles. That city has a population of nine million people. "You have clean air; in LA you can see the air, and you're not sure you want to breath it.

"I spent about two to three hours a day in my car sitting in traffic jams. Anywhere we saw to live in Cape Girardeau would be within 10 minutes of the hospital.

"You have a quality of life there the rest of the world envies, and we're pleased to get a chance to join you all.

"Health care to me has been a calling," Fidler said. "I feel that when you have a chance to integrate what you love doing with working with and helping others, everything we've worked for for 20 years has come together.

"I'm really looking forward to making Cape Girardeau our home."

At the news conference, Rediger said Fidler's experience as a CEO in health care organizations was one of the qualifications that helped him edge out other applicants.

"I guess we were looking for a change of pace," Rediger said. "John Keusenkothen was here a number of years. It was time for a change. The medical center had grown greatly through the years under the leadership of John Keusenkothen, and we hope that it will continue to grow under the leadership of John Fidler."

Another board member, L.R. "Mickey" Roper, said: "I think St. Francis was really blessed to have the quality of candidates we had. It was a difficult choice. He is a strong man with strong beliefs. He is a very warm and caring person, and I think the community will appreciate that."

Rediger said Fidler will be asked to address concerns about health care costs, increasing technology and expanding the medical center's role as a regional institution.

Roper said: "We don't have any big fires here. St. Francis is a very healthy institution. We have had a strong administration and staff."

Roper said he hopes hospital administrators will choose to stay under the new leadership.

Fidler was among five finalists who were interviewed over the past few weeks in Cape Girardeau.

Fidler's resume also includes a history of health care administration. Between 1970 and 1983, he served as associate administrator of St. Edward Mercy Medical Center in Fort Smith, Ark., administrator of Imperial Point Medical Center in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., and chief operating officer at Lakeland Regional Medical Center in Lakeland, Fla.

Fidler earned a master's degree in microbiology at the University of Nebraska in 1966 and a master's degree in health and hospital administration at the University of Florida in 1970.

He is a fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives and holds memberships in a variety of professional organizations.

Fidler and his wife, Peggy, have one daughter, Christina, 18, who plans to enroll at Southeast Missouri State University next spring.