Hospital searches for a CEO with a mission

The search for a new president and chief executive officer of Saint Mary's Health Network will touch most of the usual bases top-level executive experience, solid leadership skills, financial acumen.

But the recruitment of a successor to retiring CEO Jeff Bills will look different from any other executive search for one reason: The health network is owned by the Dominican Sisters, and the values of the religious order must be reflected in the health system's top executive.

Bills, president and chief executive officer of Saint Mary's for nearly a decade, retires this week.

The health network sets a high standard for his successor.

"It takes a very special person to be a CEO and president of a faith-based health care network," says Sister Maureen McInerney, Saint Mary's vice president, sponsorship.

"We are seeking someone who not only values our mission, but understands our mission and is a living reflection through their service and commitment to Saint Mary's and the community."

Within days after Bills' announcement, the search for the person who is a living reflection of the Dominican Sisters' commitment began at KL Kingsley, a specialist in health executive recruiting based in Walnut Creek, Calif.

In fact, the recruiting company received resumes from interested executives even before it launched its formal search.

"We're not quite sure how they found our name," says Christine McGuire, a principal in KL Kingsley.

The recruiting firm's search, she said in a telephone interview, began with a review of veteran executives of Catholic-owned hospitals.

KL Kingsley maintains a data base of about 10,000 health-care executives that it's developed during its 15 years in business.

But KL Kingsley isn't limiting itself to faith-based institutions, Catholic or otherwise.

"This person doesn't have to be Catholic by a long shot," McGuire said.

"We're looking for a person who has a mission to help others and grow this hospital."

The mission to help others,McGuire said, is common among health-care executives.

"We do a lot of digging about a person," she said.

"We need to know who is genuinely caring and warm.

You can quickly discern who is like that and who isn't."

Strong management skills are the other side of the equation.

"You can't just be nice at the bedside or the hospital will die," McGuire said.

But candidates for positions such as the top spot at Saint Mary's typically have the sorts of solid management skills that have allowed their careers to thrive, McGuire said.

How common are focused, experienced health-care executives who share the faithbased vision of the Dominican Sisters? "There's a large pool," McGuire said.

She said the search for a top hospital administrator typically lasts 90 to 120 days and the process may be somewhat easier than usual for Saint Mary's.

"Reno is a very desirable place to live," McGuire said.

"Saint Mary's is a very stable health-care provider with a great reputation."

She notes, for instance, that turnover in the nursing staff at Saint Mary's runs about half a percentage a year, a figure she called "incredible." And a recent survey of Saint Mary's employees found that 89 percent say their daily work reflects the mission of the health-care system.

"That's the difference in a faith-based institution," McGuire said.