|
Tuesday,
October 30, 2007
By
Christina Rogers
Lewis-Gale Medical
Center's parent company, HCA Inc. of Nashville, Tenn., named
Victor Giovanetti to the top slot in Salem
on Monday morning.
He will succeed Chief Executive Officer James Thweatt, 60, who took the helm
at Lewis-Gale seven years ago and is leaving to become a project director with
the HCA chain in Virginia.
Giovanetti's appointment is effective Jan. 1. He currently is based in Nashville, where he is
the CEO of Southern Hills Medical Center, a 120-bed hospital also owned by HCA.
As Lewis-Gale's new leader, Giovanetti, 44, will oversee a much larger
institution with 216 staffed beds and about 1,200 employees. Lewis-Gale also is
the regional referral center for three other hospitals in Southwest
Virginia: Alleghany Regional; Montgomery Regional; and Pulaski
Community.
Lewis-Gale Medical
Center claims about one-third of the Roanoke Valley's health care, second to Carilion
Clinic.
Giovanetti, who has a Master of Business Administration degree, wasn't
available for comment Monday, said Nancy
May, an HCA spokeswoman.
Thweatt said he plans to stay at the hospital until the end of the year, but
has yet to decide on a departure date.
He anticipates staying in Salem
for his new role with HCA. That will include managing the design and
construction of Spotsylvania Regional Medical
Center, a proposed 126-bed hospital
near Fredericksburg, Va. He declined to comment any further on
job specifics, only that he will remain a full-time employee of the for-profit
company.
"I just felt I need to do something different," said Thweatt, who
started his health care career more than 30 years ago in pharmacy operations.
Thweatt came to Lewis-Gale in 2000 after serving for nearly a decade as CEO
of Clinch Valley Medical Center in Richlands,
Va. Also owned by HCA, Clinch Valley
is much a smaller institution than Lewis-Gale with 126 staffed beds and about
430 employees, according to Virginia Health Information records.
http://www.roanoke.com/business/wb/137760
|
