Interim CEO Steve Loveless Leaving for COO Position in Arkansas
Kearney, NE - Good Samaritan Hospital's interim CEO, Steve Loveless, 38, has announced that he is resigning to accept a position as chief operating officer with St. Edward Mercy Medical Center in Fort Smith, Ark.
A search for a new CEO for Good Samaritan Hospital has been underway and is expected to take several months. The board will name an interim CEO prior to Loveless' departure in April.
"We appreciate Steve, not only for his very professional leadership as interim CEO, but also for his role on the administrative team for the past ten years. He will be missed but we realize he must take advantage of opportunities to advance his career," said Dale Pohlmann, chairman of the Good Samaritan Hospital board. "We wish him and his family the very best in this new endeavor."
"The board's goal is to maintain Good Samaritan Hospital as the region's destination medical center. The CEO role at Good Samaritan is an attractive one. We are expanding our facilities, we offer the latest in technology and equipment, and we have an outstanding staff and medical staff," Pohlmann said. "The board is confident we will find a CEO who will lead the hospital into a successful future and help us mend relationships with members of our medical staff."
The Good Samaritan Hospital Board of Directors named Loveless the interim CEO when John W. Allen announced his retirement in October. Prior to that, Loveless served as the vice president of Ancillary Services at Good Samaritan, a position he took in 2002. Loveless joined Good Samaritan as an administrative fellow from The Ohio State University in June of 1999.
"I have great appreciation for Good Samaritan Hospital and Catholic Health Initiatives, and especially for our staff who make the story of the good Samaritan a living reality," Loveless said. "They are committed to living out our core values of reverence, integrity, compassion and excellence."
Loveless was a candidate for Good Samaritan's CEO position but said the move to a chief operating officer role is a better fit for his career path. Loveless was in the process of interviewing for the St. Edward Mercy position prior to Allen's announcement.
"I am confident in the leadership of our board and administrative team, and know that the future of the hospital is in good hands. Our board is committed to finding a solution to the concerns raised by some of our physicians. Whether or not a for-profit hospital is built in Kearney, Good Samaritan Hospital will move forward with developing an the innovative new structure that gives physicians greater control," Loveless said.
Loveless is a fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives, a graduate of Leadership Kearney, a former member of the Red Cross board of directors and a member of Kearney Noon Rotary. He is the Bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for the Kearney ward.
