CEO suddenly departs Bradenton’s HCA Florida Blake Hospital
HCA Florida Blake Hospital has a new interim CEO after the sudden departure of its current CEO Steve Nierman on Monday.
Paige Laughlin, the hospital’s chief operating officer, has been named interim CEO while Nashville-based HCA Health conducts a national search for a CEO, a spokesperson confirmed Tuesday in an email.
The spokesperson offered no other information on the change in hospital leadership. It’s not clear whether Nierman was let go or resigned, or what prompted his departure.
Laughlin replaces Steve Nierman, who in 2021 was named CEO and president of Blake Medical Center at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2023, the hospital was rebranded HCA Florida Blake Hospital, when HCA Healthcare, rebranded all of its Florida hospitals.
At the time of Nierman’s hiring as Blake CEO in 2021, the number-one challenge faced by Blake and other hospitals was staffing: finding enough health care providers to take care of patients.
Staffing shortages continue to plague hospitals, as many health care workers retired or left the industry as a result of the pressures and demands of the pandemic.
“I have really been inspired with the people in this hospital. I have also been inspired by people in this community who care about education and providing for others,” Nierman told the Bradenton Herald after joining Blake in 2021.
A recent Tampa Bay Times story reported that a Service Employees International Union report showed that staffing at HCA’s 180 hospitals across the United States was inadequate.
The Tampa Bay Times story reported several breakdowns in patient care at HCA’s Florida hospitals.
Among them, a Bradenton resident who said he had two bowel movements in bed because health care workers weren’t available to get him to a bathroom.
Earlier this year, the Bradenton Herald reached out to Blake regarding concerns about staffing challenges.
Nierman issued this statement:
“The impact of the nationwide nursing shortage has been felt at hospitals across the country. However, despite recruiting challenges largely caused by the pandemic, HCA Florida Blake Hospital last year welcomed 86 new nurses into our caregiver family who are still here caring for our patients today.
“Since 2020, HCA Healthcare and the Galen College of Nursing have opened 12 new nursing schools including the Sarasota campus in 2022, which is attracting even more future nurses to our community.
“Like any hospital, we will have empty beds on any given day. However, our priority is always patient safety.
“HCA Florida Blake Hospital continues to admit patients and, if for any reason care for a patient cannot be provided at our hospital, then the patient will be transferred to a nearby facility where that care can be provided.”
The Herald was unable to reach Nierman on Tuesday for comment.
