SoutheastHEALTH to introduce new CEO today

The choice of a new executive leader for the regional healthcare system SoutheastHEALTH will be announced later today.

A 3 p.m. press conference is scheduled at Southeast Missouri Hospital, where members of the system's board of directors and executive team will introduce a new CEO.

Wayne Smith served as CEO until his retirement in October. John Skeans, chief financial officer for SoutheastHEALTH, has been serving as interim CEO while a search for a replacement has been conducted by an executive search firm. System board director John Thompson said in November that a large candidate field had been narrowed to three people, all of whom are aware of the health system's financial position.

A new CEO at SoutheastHEALTH will help lead an intiative underway that focuses on financial improvement and operational refinement. The initiative identifies efficiencies to help the health system out of some financial woes it has experienced in the past few years because of revenue and billing cycle issues and cuts in reimbursements.

Regional facilties in the SoutheastHEALTH system include medical campuses in Cape Girardeau, Reynolds, Ripley and Stoddard counties. The system's 2012 annual report states it employed more than 2,300 healthcare professionals and handled over 11,000 admissions that fiscal cycle.

eragan@semissourian.com

388-3632

Pertinent address:

1701 Lacey St., Cape Girardeau, MO