After a national search that drew more than 60 applicants, Roger Williams Medical Center in Providence has chosen a new president and CEO – Kenneth H. Belcher, a vice president at Boston Medical Center, who took a leave of absence in December to serve as Roger Williams’ interim CEO.
“Ken Belcher has the experience, leadership and vision necessary to carry Roger Williams into the future,” Edward A. Hjerpe III, chairman of the hospital’s board, said in a news release. “He joined Roger Williams at a challenging time and has done a tremendous amount of good work to move the hospital in a positive direction.”
Belcher arrived at Roger Williams just before a federal grand jury indicted the institution – and CEO Robert A. Urciuoli, a former vice president and an affiliated official – on 38 felony counts in connection with their dealings with disgraced former state Sen. John A. Celona.
The hospital fired Urciuoli and struck a deal with U.S. Attorney Robert Clark Corrente to defer its own prosecution indefinitely, so long as it cooperated and agreed to strict oversight and ethics reforms. Separately, the R.I. Department of Health imposed extra controls of its own.
But the ordeal left Roger Williams with a loss of about $1.38 million for 2005 – rather than its expected profit of about $1.3 million for the year – after the medical center incurred about $2.7 million in expenses in connection with the case and the deferred-prosecution deal, spokes-man Brett Davey said.
And, although its staff continued to work hard to provide excellent care, Belcher said in an interview, the hospital’s patient volume dropped over the fall and winter.
But since then, things have turned around. The hospital has posted an operating profit in all but one month from March through August, Belcher said – with September looking good, too. It has opened a new angiography suite, completed a renovation of its geriatrics nursing unit and had its bone-marrow transplant unit designated as a full-service facility, among other accomplishments.
Belcher said he still expects Roger Williams to end the year about $2 million in the red, but that’s an improvement from last winter’s deficit of almost $3 million. About $1.5 million of the shortfall, he said, is due to “extraordinary legal and accounting expenses” related to the Celona case.
Hospital leaders believe that some kind of affiliation with another local institution or health care network may be the key to Roger Williams’ long-term viability, Belcher said, and the board was to begin reviewing a report on possible options last week. But a merger such as was once discussed with Landmark Medical Center is unlikely, he said.
Roger Williams is also trying to stay focused on patient care, to recruit top clinicians and to improve physician satisfaction, Belcher said.
Belcher’s new salary has not yet been determined, Davey said. As interim CEO, he has been earning $115,000 a year. Asked why he’d sought to become the hospital’s long-term president and CEO, Belcher said he had fallen “in love” with Roger Williams.
“I’ve never seen a more dedicated staff than I’ve seen here,” he said, praising the resiliency and attitude of the hospital’s nearly 1,400 employees even at a time of crisis. “It only became natural to want to continue on,” he added, “so I was delighted to throw my hat in the ring and delighted to be asked to stay.”
