Prospective Candidates Could Interview Early December
By Darcie Shinberger
The McDonough District Hospital (MDH) Board of Directors held a special meeting Oct. 5 to discuss the salary base, performance benchmarks, contract terms and more for the hospital's new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). A search, conducted by Buffkin/Baker, LLC of Kansas City, MO, is underway to find the hospital's next leader.
The hospital is paying a $132,000 flat fee (or roughly 1/3 of the CEO salary) for the search, with two employees from the firm dedicated to the MDH search. The in-house search committee, chaired by Board member JoEllen Pensinger, working with the firm include hospital employees Brittany Doll and Dr. Jeff Sparks; Dr. Amy Waschull; MDH Finance Committee Member Todd Lester; MDH Board Member Seth Minter; and retired longtime MDH CEO/President Steve Hopper. While the search is going on retired Chief Nursing Officer Wanda Foster has been serving as the interim CEO since July 18.
At Monday evening's meeting, Pensinger told the Board of Directors that Buffkin/Baker is seeking a salary range, and other pertinent details, to share with the candidates they determine will move forward.
The firm is currently 'casting a wide net' to find CEO prospects with experience running a rural hospital.
After an hour-long discussion on what they want to see for the next CEO, including performance metrics, the Board unanimously approved a $350,000 base pay. The performance metrics will be further reviewed and set prior to interviews, Pensinger added.
The contract, including pay and relocation compensation, will be negotiated with the selected candidate.
Currently, the discussion is to allow for a relocation package of $20,000-$30,000, as well as making temporary housing available. The selected candidate will be responsible for covering their own health insurance premiums, just like any other employee, Bill Corbin, vice president/Chief Human Resources Officer explained. To date, Buffkin/Baker has interviewed qualified preliminary candidates, all with CEO experience, from the Minneapolis and Kansas City regions, along with other areas of the Midwest.
Moving the Hospital Forward: Incentives & Benchmarks Pensinger and Minter explained any additional incentives for the next CEO would be tied to benchmarks the Board would set, with assistance from Buffkin/Baker. The top performance metric will most likely be tied to improving the hospital's finances and revenue cycle according to Monday's discussion.
Next Steps: The Interview Process
Buffkin/Baker has until Nov. 2 to narrow the prospect list down, Pensinger shared. On Nov. 2, the search committee will meet to narrow down the list of candidates to five for the virtual interviews.
Two-hour Zoom interviews will be held with members of the search committee Nov. 18-19. From there, at least the three top prospects will have on-campus interviews with the search committee, staff and community leaders tentatively planned for Dec. 3-4, 7-8 and 10-11.
Hospital Succession
The next permanent CEO will replace Bill Murdock, who was named as the permanent CEO in May 2024 after serving as the interim CEO/president for two months when then-CEO Brian Dietz was ousted in December 2023 after reaching a mutual separation agreement, totaling $325,000.
Murdock was removed from his position in May, serving until mid-July when Foster took over the reins temporarily. MDH recently reached a separation agreement with Murdock after his departure. As part of the agreement, the former CEO will receive the equivalent of nine months of base compensation payable in bi-weekly installments minus legally required payroll taxes and withholdings for a total of $318,750.
