Reshuffle Leaves a Top Woman Unemployed; Progress on Cancer Center at Dayton Adventist Health Institutions
December 10, 2015: Changes in management roles at Kettering Health Network (KHN), the eight Adventist hospitals in the Dayton (Ohio) metropolitan area, left Terri Day, one of the top women among Adventist health administrators, without a job. She had been president of the network since November 2012, the first woman to serve in that role, and was chief operating officer for two previous years.
Roy Chew, who has been president of the network’s main hospital, Kettering Medical Center, is the new network president. He has been part of the leadership of the organization for 28 years, reported the Dayton Daily News. Five other executives were given new roles, all of them men.
Day “has made a significant difference in our network and our community,” Fred Manchur, chief executive officer of KHN, told the newspaper. “We are grateful for her dedicated service.”
The explanation given the newspaper for the reorganization was “in order to effectively respond to changes in the health care market … we need a change in leadership.” Elizabeth Long, the representative who made this statement also said, “We believe that Roy Chew is the right person to lead KHN in its goal of operating as one network.”
Adventist Today has been told that there were tensions behind the scenes. One observer also pointed out that the overall size of the top management group has been reduced.
Yesterday the first phase of construction was completed on a new $49 million, five-story, 120,000 square foot Cancer Center on the KHN main campus. The final steel beam was installed and a topping-out ceremony brought together community leaders and network executives.
The eight hospitals and affiliated physician practices have seen 2,400 to 2,500 new diagnoses of cancer each year. It is a major need in the American Midwest city. Every element of the design of the new Cancer Center has been guided by a patient advisory council.
Because of input from cancer patients and cancer survivors and their families, the Cancer Center will include many features such as massage therapy, a cafe that has items that are selected for the nutritional needs of cancer patients, and a boutique designed for cancer patients. Some of these services will also be extended to other KHN facilities.
In addition to the eight hospitals, KHN operates another 120 community facilities, including free-standing emergency departments and physician offices. The overall Adventist presence in this modest-sized city is one of the largest per capita in North America.