By JEFFERSON WEAVER
Staff Writer

The interim chief executive for Columbus Regional Healthcare said Tuesday a number of potential applicants have expressed interest in the top position at the hospital.

Roughly 175 applicants have submitted resumes or contacted Carolinas HealthCare Systems about the CEO position, Fred Brown said. The interim CEO said some of the applicants are local.

“There’s a lot of interest in the facility,” Brown said.

Carolinas HealthCare Systems took over the management contract for the hospital Dec. 3. The hospital board of trustees voted last month not to renew Quorum’s contract after 16 years.

Brown said the trustees and the management company are taking their time picking a new leader for the hospital.

Applicants will be culled through several steps, with three or four applicants receiving “extensive” phone interviews, possibly as early as January. A decision could be reached in February, Brown said, with the successful applicant coming on board in March after final interviews with CHS staff in Charlotte.

“At that point we’ll work on an interim chief financial officer,” Brown said. Bob Barber of CHS is currently serving as the interim CFO at Columbus Regional. “It’s vital the CEO and CFO work closely together.”

Brown said Columbus Regional is attractive to many applicants because, unlike many community hospitals in transition, “it isn’t broken.

“This is a functioning hospital, with few concerns,” he said. “Often new managers have to rebuild operations, and that makes it tough to attract qualified candidates. All we need to do here is tweak a few operations and exploit the available opportunities.”

In addition to holding management positions with CHS, Brown and Barber act as interim officers when the company takes over management of new hospitals.

Brown said he hopes Columbus Regional will benefit from some of the programs available through other CHS facilities, including extensive community wellness programs.

“Health care is changing,” he said. “We’re still about caring for sick and injured people, but we’d like to see more preventative measures as well. If we can improve health awareness in the community, starting with children, we can prevent some unnecessary hospital visits and treatments.”

Brown used the increasing number of diabetic patients across the country as an example.

“Most diabetic problems can be treated in a doctor’s office,” he said. “Few diabetics should ever have to undergo a hospital stay. With more education, awareness and communication between doctors and the hospital, some of those stays can be prevented.”

Brown said he is impressed with the community and its concern with the hospital.

“A local hospital is an important part of any community,” he said. “The feeling for this hospital is evident here.”

Carolinas HealthCare Systems is the largest medical provider in the Carolinas, and the third largest system in the country.

Brown said the company concentrates on community hospitals, giving local facilities bargaining power not often available to small hospitals.

The interim CEO is a native of Statesville. He was drafted into the U.S. Army after graduating college in 1969.

Brown attended officer’s school after becoming a combat engineer, and was recalled to active duty with a medical unit during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm.

Brown and his wife Laura have one son and two grandchildren.