Richard Liekweg, chief executive officer of Durham Regional Hospital, announced last week that he is stepping down to become CEO of the University of California at San Diego Medical Center.
Liekweg, who has been CEO of Durham Regional since June 2000 and was chief operating officer before that since November 1999, presided over the hospital in the wake of its managerial takeover by the Duke University Health System.
"His individual legacy will be improving the operations of Durham Regional where it now is probably functioning better than ever before in the quality of care it's giving and financially through the past decade," said Dr. Ralph Snyderman, president and CEO of the Health System.
The hospital will conduct a national search for Liekweg's replacement, but in the meantime, DUHS associate vice president Kevin Sowers will serve as acting CEO.
"We need an individual who is very seasoned in knowing how to operate effectively the size of community hospital that Durham Regional is - a 400-bed hospital," Snyderman said. "The individual need is to have a strategic vision of how we maximize the benefit of Durham Regional to the Health System."
Neither Liekweg nor Sowers were available for comment Monday.
The Health System acquired a 20-year lease for the hospital and for the Lincoln Community Health Center in 1998 after a long set of negotiations with county officials. Although Duke fought hard for the lease in 1997 and 1998, Duke administrators soon found that the hospital was in greater financial trouble than they had expected.
Durham Regional faced a $17 million operating loss at the end of its 2000 fiscal year, and it has since recorded shortfalls every year, but by much smaller margins. Since the Health System took over the hospital in 1998, it has lost over $40 million. Last September, the hospital announced a $2 million shortfall - greater than its predicted $1.7 million deficit. For the 2003 fiscal year, Durham Regional officials projected a $3.3 million loss, in large part due to decreasing state and federal funding for Medicare.
In 2001, to cut back operating costs, the community hospital eliminated jobs by closing the Oakleigh Substance Abuse Treatment Center, the Wellness Institute and the Senior Health Center at Northgate Mall.
"This year, given the stringencies of the economic environment, it's budgeting a small loss again," Snyderman said. "At least as of today, Durham Regional is ahead of budget. I wouldn't say it would be profitable for the year, but it certainly looks like it will break even."
Twice in 2002, North Carolina's Division of Facility Services found that Durham Regional had failed to meet quality standards for federal Medicare and Medicaid funding. Both times, however, the hospital quickly remedied the problems.
Snyderman credited Liekweg with overcoming community suspicions about Duke's intentions.
"There was a lot of distrust among some in-town physicians, but Rich convinced through his actions that he was looking out for the best interests of Durham Regional as a health partner, so there were not substantial conflicts between the Health System and Durham Regional."
Liekweg had previously served as the senior associate operating officer of Duke Hospital and was a 12-year Duke Hospital administrator before transferring to Durham Regional.
"We will miss Rich's strong leadership at Durham Regional Hospital and within Duke University Health System," DUHS Executive Vice President William Donelan wrote in a letter last week. "At the same time, we are proud of this recognition of his talent and accomplishments and excited for his future success."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.