Roling to continue as temporary CEO at PVHCAfter a telephone conference and lengthy discussion during an executive session, the Powell Valley Healthcare Board on Thursday voted to have Robin Roling continue as interim chief executive officer for the organization until a permanent replacement is hired and on duty.Roling is vice president of patient care services for Powell Valley Healthcare.

Prior to the executive session, Bob Brendgard of HealthTech Management Services outlined the pros and cons of appointing an interim chief executive officer from within the staff, vs. hiring an experienced, temporary chief executive officer.

HealthTech is contracted to provide management services for Powell Valley Healthcare, and will employ the new chief executive officer.

The advantages of appointing an interim chief executive officer, Brendgard said, is that he or she knows the staff and the issues and can anticipate and plan for the organization's needs.

Normally, that is the preferred course of action when a CEO position is expected to remain open for a month or two and a qualified candidate is available, he said.

Advantages of hiring a temporary chief executive officer stem from the fact that the hospital has a trained and experienced person at the helm while a search for a permanent replacement proceeds, Brendgard said.

Two experienced CEOs were available if the board chose that direction. Both are experienced and would provide guidance and move the organization forward while working in the temporary leadership post, he said.

“The last thing we want is an interim who will be basically a babysitter of the organization (who will) only answer phones and make few decisions,” he said.

The disadvantage, Brendgard said, is the cost of hiring a temporary chief executive officer. That price tag includes paying for them to return home occasionally during their tenure. Normally, they would spend two weeks here, followed by four days at home.

But Brendgard noted the approaching holidays could increase the time a temporary CEO spent away from the job and the associated traveling costs.

Hiring a temporary chief executive officer usually is the course of action when a CEO position is expected to remain open for three months or longer, Brendgard said. However, he noted Powell Valley Healthcare is in a unique situation, having already appointed Roling as interim chief executive officer when former CEO Rod Barton left to take a position in Idaho. At that time, the vacancy was expected to last only a few weeks, since Paul Cardwell was hired and expected to start in early November.

However, that picture has changed since then. Cardwell told Brendgard and Powell Valley Healthcare recently that family concerns prevent him from taking the position after all, and the board now plans to conduct a second search to fill the position.

Brendgard said he already had 15-20 resumes to review for the position, but he doesn't expect any candidates to be forwarded to the search committee until sometime in January.

Some applicants appear qualified, while others do not, he said. Brendgard said he or someone else with HealthTech will interview qualifying candidates and perform background searches on them before referring them to the search committee and the board.

“It is of no benefit to the board to waste time on someone I haven't seen,” he said. “I think it's going to be March before someone is interviewed by me and the board and someone is selected.”