Lakewood Hospital names new president
By SCOTT SUTTELL
1:35 pm, December 22, 2009
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Janice Murphy has been named president of Lakewood Hospital, which will mean she does double duty as she continues to serve as president of Fairview Hospital.
The appointment is effective Jan. 1. She will replace Jack Gustin as president of Lakewood Hospital.
In her new dual role, Ms. Murphy will be responsible for the oversight and operations of both Lakewood and Fairview hospitals, which are operated by the Cleveland Clinic.
“This is a great opportunity for our organizations to really work together in overlapping markets to build on the strengths each hospital offers and continue to keep our patients at the forefront of every decision,” Ms. Murphy said in a statement.
“I'm excited to be a part of this and believe it will allow us to build on a combined nearly 200 years of care both hospitals have provided to our communities and challenge us to consider new opportunities and continue exciting existing ventures,” she said.
Ms. Murphy has led Fairview Hospital since 2007. She began her career at Fairview Hospital in 1978 as a bedside nurse in oncology.
Also as part of the announcement, the Clinic said Lakewood and Fairview hospitals' finances will function under the leadership of one finance director, to be named “in the near future.”
Mr. Gustin, the current president of Lakewood Hospital, “will utilize his experience and expertise to support the Cleveland Clinic Regional Hospitals in key West Side and Lorain County initiatives,” the Clinic said. Included in those duties will be helping to connect the Clinic's regional hospitals with the Cleveland Clinic Lorain Institute, said Fred DeGrandis, president and CEO of the Cleveland Clinic Regional Hospitals.
Mr. DeGrandis said the streamlined management structure of Lakewood and Fairview hospitals, with Ms. Murphy at the helm of both, makes sense because they hospitals serve overlapping markets. The hospitals are only about four miles apart, he said, and the new management structure will help make sure services are more closely aligned.
Mr. Gustin was appointed president of Lakewood Hospital in November 2004. Prior to taking that job, Mr. Gustin served as chief operating officer of the Cleveland Clinic Regional Hospitals West Region, which consists of Fairview, Lakewood and Lutheran hospitals.
Crain's reported in September that Lakewood Hospital is on track for a third year of losses and decreased admissions.
The hospital reported operating losses of $700,000 in 2007 and $8.8 million last year, according to a June 24 report by Moody's Investors Service, which downgraded its bond rating for Lakewood Hospital Association to A2 from A1 and revised its outlook to negative from stable.
In September, Mr. Gustin told Crain's that Lakewood Hospital was headed for operating losses of $1 million to $1.5 million in 2009. Much of this year's operating loss, he said at the time, was attributed to uncompensated care, which rose to 12% of total revenue in the last three months, up from 10% earlier this year.
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