CCH Administrator Resigns

Published: Claiborne Independent

March 25, 2009

by W. Lee Brame

Claiborne County Hospital Administrator, Dan Colon, under increasing pressure from the Board of Directors to improve hospital finances, resigned his position on Monday, March 16. Personnel close to Colon indicated that he left the job for better opportunities elsewhere.

Colon was initially considered for the post during a public workshop held on March 11, 2008 and his appointment confirmed during the March 2008 Hospital Board meeting.

As reported earlier in this paper, Hospital Board members had become increasingly concerned with the financial management of the hospital and had set deadlines for corrective actions during the February 2009 Hospital Board meeting. In particular, the number of days in the accounts receivables column (the average  length of time for the hospital to get paid for services rendered) continued to grow. During last month’s meeting, board members requested that Mercy Health Partners provide the hospital with technical assistance in this area.

Colon’s tenure at Claiborne County Hospital covered an interesting period that saw improvement and then degradation of the hospital’s finances, the hiring and firing of a Chief Financial Officer, and the opening of a new medical services building.

Significant improvements were made in many areas in reaching national service performance standards but the financial challenges in operating a rural public hospital in these economically turbulent times are daunting.

Further developments are expected during the March 2009 Hospital Board meeting which is scheduled on Tuesday, March 24.

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