CEO revolving door: Trevor Fetter leaves Tenet earlier than expected, Gerard Colman takes top post at Baptist Health

Trevor Fetter
Trevor Fetter

Trevor Fetter has stepped down from his role as CEO of Tenet Healthcare five months earlier than expected.

The Dallas-based healthcare system announced on Monday that it has named Ronald A. Rittenmeyer, who was appointed executive chairman in August, to serve as CEO while it searches for someone to permanently replace Fetter.

RELATED: Tenet CEO Trevor Fetter to step down in early 2018; board changes also expected in wake of financial losses

Fetter, who has served as the head of Tenet for more than 14 years, said in the announcement that he is ready to step down from the top post because he is confident in Rittenmeyer’s leadership and the organization’s management team. He said it was an honor to work alongside Tenet employees.

Tenet, one of the country’s largest healthcare organizations, has had its share of financial troubles in recent months. It suffered a big second-quarter loss this year and also had a net operating loss of $1.7 billion as of the end of 2016. Even still, Fetter will receive a severance package worth nearly $23 million.

RELATED: Tenet CEO to get $23M severance payout; new charges filed in $400M kickback case against 2 former employees

Leadership changes are also underway at hospitals across the country. Earlier this month, J. Knox Singleton announced he’d be leaving as CEO of Inova Health System after 35 years at the helm. And Mitchell Katz, M.D., director of the Los Angeles County Health Agency, will become the new chief executive of NYC Health + Hospitals.

Other hospital CEO moves announced

This week, Baptist Health announced that Gerard “Ger” Colman will become the new CEO of Kentucky’s largest not-for-profit healthcare provider on Dec. 4. He will replace Steve Hanson, who stepped down in March. Colman is currently the chief operating officer of Aurora Health Care System in Milwaukee.

Baptist Health operates eight hospitals (seven in Kentucky and one in Southern Indiana), more than 300 points of care and the Baptist Health Medical Group with about 1,100 physicians and other providers.

Changes are also about to take place at United Medical Center in the District of Columbia. Veritas of Washington LLC announced it would replace Luis Hernandez as CEO and will initiate a national search for his replacement once the D.C. Council approves a one-year $4.2 million extension of its contract, the Washington Business Journal reports.

In other news:

  • Melissa Low has been named CEO of Acuity Hospital of South Texas.
  • Brian Moore announced plans to resign as CEO of St. Mary-Corwin Medical Center, a part of the Centura Health System, on Nov. 10. Mike Cafasso has been appointed interim administrator until a permanent replacement is found, News Channel 13 in Colorado Springs reports.
  • Kevin G. Seely has been named president and CEO at HSHS St. Francis Hospital in Litchfield, Illinois.
  • Elias Neujahr will be the first CEO of Children’s Hospital of Richmond at Virginia Commonwealth University, effective Dec. 3.
  • Doug Crabtree, the longtime CEO of Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center, will retire Dec. 31.