Ephrata hospital seeks new admin.

EPHRATA - An interim administrator could be hired as early as January 1 at Columbia Basin Hospital to replace former administrator Robert Reeder, who resigned recently.

Reeder's resignation was effective immediately, said hospital board chair Donna Knauss. The move came at the request of the board, but Knauss said it was not a matter of Reeder pursuing specific policies or any actions he had taken.

"It was an amicable arrangement. We parted on good terms and shaking hands," she said.

"We're looking to get some fresh ideas in," Knauss said. "It's also not uncommon" that when an organization wants to make changes, it starts with changes at the top, she said. "That's what we're hoping a new person will bring us, is some fresh ideas."

She estimated it would take six months to a year to find a new administrator. Until an interim is named, hospital business manager Rosalinda Kibbee is acting as administrator. "We have a couple of leads right now" on people who might be interested in the interim job, Knauss said.

Reeder was hired in 2009 after serving as interim. The severance package includes a provision for the district to keep paying Reeder's salary, $10,499 per month, for up to nine months. The reimbursement ends if Reeder gets another job and the base salary and benefits are within 75 percent of what he received in Ephrata. The agreement prohibits Reeder from suing the district, but does not allow for arbitration.

The hospital is working on a $13 million expansion, remodeling and modernization project and operates a clinic, extended living facility and assisted living facility. Knauss said the board is not considering eliminating any of its current services. Ephrata is home to a lot of retirees, many of whom chose the city in part because of the access to medical care, and it's important to maintain that, Knauss said.

In fact the board wants to expand some services, Knauss said, as part of the district's effort to expand patient usage and patient revenue. Along with that, the district has to reduce expenses, she said.