<\/p>\n
Southwest Health System has fired three members of its senior leadership team and is seeking long-term replacements, according to an announcement late Friday.<\/p>\n
CEO Kent Rogers, Chief Nursing Officer Karen Pasquin and Chief Ambulatory Services Officer Ken Boucher \u201cwere separated from the organization\u201d effective Friday morning, said Southwest spokeswoman Haley Leonard Saunders.<\/p>\n
Surgical Services Director Kerri White and Medical Staff Services Director Shelle Zachary will step into Pasquin and Boucher\u2019s roles while the company searches for replacements. The company plans to work with Community Hospital Corp. to find an interim CEO by April 16.<\/p>\n
Saunders would not say why the three leaders were fired, except that the decision resulted from a \u201cchange in leadership direction,\u201d determined by the Southwest Health System Board of Directors.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a responsibility to the community, and we needed to make some changes in order to fulfill that,\u201d Saunders said.<\/p>\n
Saunders said representatives from the Community Hospital Corp., which offers consulting services for hospitals, would help Southwest Health staff figure out a timeline for replacing Rogers and the other leaders.<\/p>\n
In the news release, Paul Deshayes, chairman of the board of directors, said the abrupt change in leadership wouldn\u2019t affect Southwest Memorial Hospital\u2019s remodel project, which is on track to be completed this summer.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur plans to move into our new facilities and get them up and running have not changed,\u201d he wrote in the release. \u201cWe look forward to being able to serve our community in a more coordinated and collaborative way.\u201d<\/p>\n