FARMINGTON — Franklin Community Health Network has named a new chief operating officer.
Miriam Leonard, a former vice president of operations at Maine Medical Center in Portland, will serve as chief operating officer, according to a hospital news release on Tuesday.
Timothy Churchill, interim FCHN chief executive officer, made the appointment, which was also backed by the hospital network’s Board of Trustees, spokeswoman Jill Gray said in the release.
Now, Leonard serves as the vice president of value improvement for the nonprofit MaineHealth. Prior to that role, Leonard was the vice president of operations for Maine’s largest hospital, Maine Medical Center, for 10 years. She also served as vice president of special projects for Maine Medical Center before joining MaineHealth in 2013.
“In Miriam we get a highly experienced and effective leader who will lead us on the new course we have charted,” Churchill said in the release. “Over the past several months, we’ve taken the steps necessary to put FCHN on firm financial footing. And at the end of the summer we completed a new, three-year strategic plan. Miriam is the right person to execute on this vision.”
Earlier this year, the hospital network announced a cost-reduction plan that included 22 layoffs among 40 eliminated full-time positions and a salary freeze for employees.
The plan came in the wake of the organization netting $15 million in losses since 2011. The reductions in staffing and operations were estimated to save FCHN $4.5 million annually.
In Tuesday’s release, Churchill said the strategic plan includes building on the organization’s primary care practices and focusing on services such as general surgery, women’s care and orthopedics, along with other initiatives aimed at meeting the needs of the community, according to the release.
“I’m excited to be stepping into this role at this time,” Leonard said in the release. “Though rural health care organizations face challenges everywhere, I see so many strengths in this organization. I think it can become a model for the delivery of high-quality, cost-effective care and programming that improves the health of the entire community.”
Lauren Abbate — 861-9252
Twitter: @Lauren_M_Abbate
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.