CROSBY-The Cuyuna Regional Medical Center Governing Board on Monday accepted the resignation of John Solheim, the hospital's CEO.
The exit comes as the hospital transitions from a public hospital district to a private 501(c)(3) nonprofit, which the board approved May 16. Solheim's announcement he was resigning came as a surprise, as it was not on the agenda for Monday night's board meeting. Board chairman Richard Schiller said the news had come down after the meeting packet had already been put together.
With a voice vote, the board decided in favor of accepting Solheim's resignation, which is effective Oct. 14.
Schiller praised Solheim, saying he had "well-positioned CRMC for the future."
Solheim was unsure of his future plans. He might take some time off, he said.
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"I've never taken any time off," he said. "Going to take some time and enjoy the Brainerd lakes area.
"I've just been at it for a while, I need a break."
He said the board had been "positive, supportive" in reaction to news he was resigning. "They always have been," he said.
Solheim joined Cuyuna Regional Medical Center in June of 2012. He was described as an embattled CEO in the Billings Gazette as it reported on his resignation from St. Peter's Hospital in Helena, Mont. The Billings Gazette reported the resignation came nearly 10 months after Solheim received a vote of no confidence from the medical staff. In May of 2011, Solheim and the hospital board received a vote of no-confidence by the majority of the doctors on the medical staff.
He also came under criticism last year at the CRMC, as employees reported being bullied by the administration and talked of a hostile atmosphere. However, during a Dispatch interview at the time, Solheim said there were high expectations and some people couldn't adapt to the changes, but no one was being bullied.
"I probably pushed the organization too fast, too soon," Solheim said.
And in April, several doctors praised Solheim for his leadership as they spoke during the public meeting on a planned conversion from district hospital to a nonprofit.
But some board members publicly criticized Solheim, including Al Ebnet as quoted in a May article in the Dispatch.
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"That's the word around-he bullies everybody. ... I feel he has the whole board bullied to a certain point," Ebnet said in May. "People are kind of OK with the 501(c)(3) but for the lack of trust in the administration, that's the big question mark."
During the meeting in May where the board voted 12-6 to change over to a private nonprofit, board member Jolienne Lundquist proposed a motion for the conversion be contingent upon asking Solheim for his consideration of resignation. However, subsequent votes to ask Solheim to resign failed three times, 6-12 each time.
Other business
Also on Monday, the board adopted an amended set of bylaws and conflict of interest policy. Hospital officials described the changes as minor.
The board also approved the resignation of Kimbler.
During the changeover meeting in May, Kimbler unsuccessfully moved to table the vote to allow for opinions against the changeover to be heard.
"I'm not against the 501(c)(3), I believe we are just pushing this too fast and I think there's a lot of questions that still need to be answered," Kimbler said at the time. "And some of the people who have offered concerns, we need to hear those concerns and I don't think they are being brought to our attention."
The board also heard a report by auditors hired by the hospital, the accounting firm of RSM from Duluth. The audit results showed the hospital's finances were doing well generally, although James Spreitzer, a partner at RSM, said CRMC had seen a decrease in cash on hand because of the conversion. However, this was "not atypical" of similar conversions, Spreitzer said.
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EDIT: This article has been edited to remove the breakdown of the voice vote, which was previously incorrect.
Brainerd Dispatch associate editor Renee Richardson contributed to this report.
ZACH KAYSER may be reached at 218-855-5860 or Zach.Kayser@brainerddispatch.com . Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ZWKayser .
