The executive, who serves on the American Hospital Association's board of trustees, said in a parting word to staff that the health system is 'at an all-time high.'
Allen Weiss, MD, resigned this week as president and CEO of NCH Healthcare System in Naples, Florida, after a vote of "no confidence" by the system's physicians.
The board accepted resignations from Weiss and Chief of Staff Kevin Cooper effective Wednesday, as the Naples Daily News reported, noting that a major point of tension between Weiss and the NCH staff was a controversial pilot project that some independent primary care physicians said would interfere with their patient relationships.
Under the pilot, employed hospitalists had been tasked with handling more admissions for certain NCH hospital units. After public outcry, the system said it would back away from that component of the plan.
"The pilot admissions program will be modified to be inclusive of all physicians on the medical staff," NCH said in a statement, as the Daily News reported. "The board shared that there have been valuable lessons learned over the past six months that include better patient satisfaction, stronger support for our nurses and overall outcomes."
Weiss, who is two years into a three-year term on the American Hospital Association board of trustees, had been NCH's CEO since 2006. He touted NCH's accomplishments in his final "Straight Talk" column on Thursday, saying the system is "at an all-time high."
"I extend sincere gratitude to the thousands of dedicated NCH nurses, care-givers, support staff, medical staff, Board members, and other colleagues with whom I have worked," Weiss wrote. "The above accomplishments are credits to these incredible people who have the grit, determination, and focus on what is best for the residents of our diverse county. I have often shared, 'When you do the right thing often enough, you get the right result.'"
NCH Chief Operating Office Phil Dutcher will serve as interim CEO while the board searches for Weiss' successor.
Steven Porter is an associate content manager and Strategy editor for HealthLeaders, a Simplify Compliance brand.