ST. FRANCIS TO BEGIN SEARCH FOR CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER

A search will get under way this week for a chief operating officer at St. Francis Medical Center.

"We haven't had a COO in four years," said Robert Hendrix, chairman of the hospital's board of directors. "We'd like to have one on staff in the near future."

The new COO will work closely with president and Chief Executive Officer John E. Fidler, whose contract was not renewed during a meeting of the medical center board.

Fidler, who joined St. Francis in January 1992 with a five-year contract, will leave the institution Jan. 2.

Once a new COO is on board, a search will get under way for a new president and CEO.

Fidler and Hendrix spent most of the day Monday meeting with employees throughout the hospital, announcing the board's decision.

"When Fidler came here five years ago, he committed five years to making a good institution an excellent one," said Hendrix. "He has done that."

The board's decision came as no big surprise, Fidler said.

"The board has been pleased with the progress over the past five years, but apparently felt it was time for a change."

Fidler has performed duties of both CEO and COO since the departure of COO Glen McFadden in 1992. In the hospital's organizational structure, the COO is its representative to the public, while the CEO deals with the board of directors.

The medical center has grown under Fidler's brief tenure. Construction is under way on a new medical office building and parking garage.

One of the major accomplishments has been the Accreditation with Commendation from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.

"This is the highest accreditation offered by JCAHO, and places us in the top 2 percent of hospitals nationally," Fidler said. "To achieve one Accreditation with Commendation is a significant achievement, but to do it again is really something to be proud of."

St. Francis received the Accreditation with Commendation in 1993 and again this year.

"By earning Accreditation with Commendation, we have demonstrated that we not only meet the Joint Commission's quality standards, but in many cases we exceed those standards," said Fidler.

"We have achieved most of what we set out to do five years ago," said Fidler. "And I still have six months left here."

Fidler admitted that he would have remained if his contract had been renewed.

"I like Cape Girardeau and the people here," he said.

There was no explanation of why the board declined to renew Fidler's contract.

"The board action is confidential," said Hendrix.

Three other board members who were contacted agreed with Hendrix, saying only that the five-year contract was coming to an end and that a new president and CEO will be recruited.

The board will use a "search firm" in its recruitment efforts for both new officers.

"We hope we can have three final candidates for the COO job within a month," said Hendrix. "We hope both positions can be filled by January."

More than 450 applicants filed for the president's position in 1991, said Hendrix.

Fidler, a former chief executive officer at medical facilities in California and Florida, was hired in November 1991 and assumed duties at St. Francis in January 1992 under a five-year contract.

Fidler, 57, succeeded John J. Keusenkothen, who served as president of St. Francis for 15 years.

Before coming to Cape Girardeau, Fidler served five years as chief executive officer of Daniel Freeman Hospitals, a two-facility, 606-bed system that included hospitals in Inglewood and Marina Del Rey, Calif.

He previously served as president and chief executive officer of St. Mary's Medical Center, a 358-bed facility in West Palm Beach, Fla. for six years.