New CEO named for troubled state run Eleanor Slater Hospital by Mckee administration
PROVIDENCE —The McKee administration has hired a new CEO for the embattled state hospital.
Richard Charest, director at the state agency that runs the Eleanor Slater Hospital, has confirmed the hiring of Brett Johnson who was most recently the CEO at Northwest Ohio Psychiatric Hospital.
He is scheduled to start his new job in Rhode Island on June 5.
Charest has been doing double-duty as CEO of the Slater Hospital and director of the Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities & Hospitals since June of last year.
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In response to repeated inquiries by The Journal in recent weeks about Johnson's rumored hiring, Charest on Monday said:
“I am pleased that someone with Brett Johnson’s knowledge and experience has agreed to lead Eleanor Slater Hospital... Brett has extensive experience in hospital leadership. He has a strong track record at the hospitals he has led, and he understands the needs of Eleanor Slater Hospital’s patients.”
Johnson served as CEO of Northwest Ohio Psychiatric Hospital for four and a half years, overseeing a $23 million operating budget and a staff of more than 200. While there, he was responsible for ensuring that all programs met or exceeded certification, licensure and compliance standards.
Before working at Northwest Ohio Psychiatric Hospital, he was CEO at Vibra Hospital in Springfield, Ill., and before that, CEO at Regency Hospital, in Sylvania, Ohio.
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Johnson starts the job at a time as Eleanor Slater Hospital is attempting to dig its way out from under the scathing findings of a review by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid, and re-qualify for federal reimbursement dollars.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Brett Johnson named new Eleanor Slater Hospital CEO in RI
