DRH hires McQuaid as CEO

Officials of Duke University Health System announced Wednesday David McQuaid as the next chief executive officer of Durham Regional Hospital, one of two community hospitals under DUHS.

  A pharmacist by training, McQuaid, who will take the helm from acting CEO Kevin Sowers in late October, is currently the executive vice president and chief operating officer for Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, where he has been serving since November 2001.

  "David McQuaid brings to Durham Regional Hospital a chief executive officer with a superb record of achievement in hospital administration and experience working within a premier health system," said Dr. Ralph Snyderman, president and CEO of DUHS, in a statement. "We have been impressed by his energy, his integrity and his deep commitment to clinical excellence. He will help sustain and enhance the ability of DRH to serve our community."

  McQuaid inherits a hospital on solid financial footing after five years of pecuniary problems, including deficits ranging from $2 million to $16.9 million.

  "This is an exciting time to be joining the Durham Regional team. The senior managers and employees have done a tremendous job of turning around this hospital financially," McQuaid said in a statement. "My goal is to build on that success, further develop our clinical programs and support a culture of service excellence so we can continue to provide the highest level of care to this community."

  Surgical volume increased 11 percent last year, allowing the hospital to post a $3 million profit for fiscal year 2003, which ended in June. The hospital has also expanded its bariatric services and endoscopy units. Most recently, the hospital expanded its orthopedic surgery capabilities, adding four new orthopedists.

  These surgery divisions are the primary target areas for growth in the next few years, Sowers said in an interview last week. Sowers has been acting CEO since Feb. 2003 when Richard Liekweg stepped down to become CEO of the University of California at San Diego Medical Center.

  Despite the upswing in the hospital's financial status, Durham Regional will continue to face financial struggles for the next few years, Mark Miller, chief financial officer at Durham Regional, said last week. Nursing shortages and diminishing Medicare reimbursements account for a projected profit of only $1.3 million next year.