October 31, 2016
(Austin) – The Central Health Board of Managers voted Wednesday, Oct. 26, to hire executive recruitment firm B.E. Smith to undertake the national search for a new president and chief executive officer (CEO).
Patricia Young Brown, the founding president and CEO of Central Health, earlier this month announced her retirement from public service effective Dec. 31, 2016. Young Brown was hired in 2005 and is the only president and CEO in Central Health’s 12-year history.
During Wednesday’s board meeting, the Board of Managers voted to enter into negotiation with B.E. Smith, a healthcare leadership and executive recruitment firm based in Lenexa, Kansas. The board approved a contract that may not exceed $100,000.
B.E. Smith. is a health care-only executive search firm that has placed 200 leaders in Texas in the past three years. Representatives told the Board of Managers that their successes include executive searches for Cares Community Health in Sacramento, California, the Maricopa Integrated Health System in Phoenix, Arizona, and the Nashville General Hospital at Meharry in Tennessee, all of which are publically funded health care entities.
“We interviewed three of the top nationally recognized firms to assist us in this important search,” said Katrina Daniel, Central Health Board Chair. “We want a firm that has connections across the county to identify a deep and diverse candidate pool. Replacing Trish will be an enormous challenge and we know her successor must be highly qualified with a breadth of experience that will cover our unique needs here in Travis County.”
The Central Health Board of Managers plans to name an interim CEO to lead the organization after Young Brown steps down at the end of the year until the permanent replacement can begin.
