The Regional Medical Center has narrowed down its search for a new chief executive officer to three finalists.
RMC board Chairman the Rev. Dr. Caesar Richburg said all three candidates have the skills do the job, but the hospital’s new CEO must also be “the best fit.”
He foresees the hospital naming a new CEO “within the next couple of weeks.”
The T&D requested names and biographical information for each of the finalists Friday. According to the state’s Freedom of Information Act, the three finalists for a position are a matter of public disclosure.
"We will have the information to you by the end of the 10-day FOIA period," interim CEO and President Kirk Wilson said.
Richburg agreed the information should be readily available without going through the FOI process. He said he would see that the materials are released.
People are also reading…
The materials had not been released by the close of business Friday.
The Coker Group, which is helping RMC with the CEO search, declined to provide the information on the finalists due to nondisclosure agreements in its contract with the RMC.
South Carolina Press Association Executive Director Bill Rogers said the “finalists need to be released in time for the public to know about it before the decision is made.
“They can drag it out, but it only hurts the credibility of their search.”
The S.C. Freedom of Information Act states, “all materials, regardless of form, gathered by a public body during a search to fill an employment position, except that materials relating to not fewer than the final three applicants under consideration for a position must be made available for public inspection and copying.”
RMC’s board held a special called meeting with Orangeburg County Council Thursday evening to update council members on the CEO search process.
"Things went very well," Richburg said. "It was an excellent exchange and very wholesome."
Orangeburg County Council Chairman Johnnie Wright said the meeting was simply designed for council to get an update on the CEO search process.
"It has been a long time since we talked," Wright said. "We talked about the search and the importance of hopefully picking someone that is going to understand the kind of community we live in and is able to work with everybody."
Orangeburg City Council members previously expressed concerns about members not being kept abreast of the goings on at the hospital.
Council was caught off guard when the hospital board decided not to renew the contract of former CEO and president Charles Williams last year.
The Regional Medical Center is owned by Orangeburg and Calhoun counties, and the county councils appoint the board members.
Late last year, Orangeburg County Council introduced an ordinance that would have given it more of a say over who leads the organization. The ordinance was given first reading but has not been finalized.
"They have liberated the board," Richburg said. "They are not telling the board what to do."
Richburg said council has informed the RMC Board of Trustees to, “act in the best interest of the institution and the community they asked us to serve.”
"They are very professional in their approach," he said.
Wright said, "We are not trying to micromanage anybody.”
Council just “wants what is in the best interest of hospital and community,” he said.
Calhoun County Council Chairman David Summers said Council is not planning to meet with the RMC board about any employment matters.
"That is the job of the trustees to hire a new administrator," Summers said. "I don't know why Orangeburg County can't get that in their heads."
In addition to discussions about the CEO, Orangeburg County Council and RMC trustees briefly discussed the hospital's ongoing search for a chief of finance and chief of nursing. The Coker Group has also been engaged in the search process for these two positions as well.