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PrintHospital Board Selects CEO Finalists
The Colquitt County Hospital Authority has narrowed its list of candidates to replace retiring president and CEO Jim Lowry to two finalists, according to Brooks Sheldon, chairman of the Hospital Authority.
The finalists are James “Jim” Matney, chief executive officer of Smith Northview Hospital in Valdosta, and Thomas Steiner, the former chief operating officer at Beebe Medical Center in Lewes, Del.
Matney joined Smith Northview as CEO in February 2009. Ameris Health Systems, the owner of Smith Northview has recently entered into an agreement to sell the hospital to South Georgia Medical Center of Valdosta. Prior to joining Smith Northview, Matney was CEO of Jack Hughston Memorial Hospital in Phenix City, Ala., which is also owned by Ameris Health Systems. He began his healthcare career as a staff accountant and later served as chief financial officer and chief operating officer at hospitals before becoming CEO of Valley View Medical Center Bullhead City, Ariz., in 2006.
Matney, a native of Virginia, received his bachelor’s degree from Berea College in Berea, Ky., and a master’s degree in health administration at the Medical College of Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Va.
Prior to joining Beebe Medical Center in 2008, Steiner was vice president of Springhill Medical Center in Mobile, Ala., where he was responsible for the operations of multiple departments, as well as the independent operations of a skilled nursing facility and retail pharmacy.
Steiner, a former active duty Marine, received a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Ala., and a certificate of gerontology and a master’s of science degree in health administration from the University of Alabama – Birmingham.
Sheldon said the finalists have visited Colquitt Regional and toured the community and each has expressed an interest in the position. The selection committee reviewed approximately 25 resumes, Sheldon said.
Lowry, who has served as CEO since August 1982, is the hospital’s longest-serving CEO, having exceeded Nora Manning’s tenure in October 2009. The hospital has had only four CEOs in its nearly 72 year history, and its first CEO served less than two years. Lowry’s retirement becomes effective at the end of the hospital’s fiscal year Sept. 30.