Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, February 16, 1993 TAG: 9302160015
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CAROLYN CLICK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
CARILION CHANGES AT THE TOP BELL SHIFTS TO PLANNING; STEPHEN PURVES PROMOTED
Houston L. Bell Jr. begins his 23rd year at Roanoke Memorial Hospitals with a promotion to president and a redirection of his energies.Bell, who as executive vice president and chief executive officer has been responsible for the day-to-day running of the hospital, shifts to long-term planning for the facility that remains the centerpiece of the Carilion Health System. He retains the CEO title.
The board of directors ratified his promotion Jan. 26; it was publicly announced Monday. The board also approved the elevation of Stephen Purves to senior vice president and chief operating officer.
The previous president of Roanoke Memorial is Thomas Robertson, president and chief executive officer of Carilion Health System, the hospital's parent.
"I plan to spend most of my time dealing with strategic issues, professional staff relations, corporate relations, community relations," the 48-year-old Bell said. "It really is a matter of focus, how I can focus my time and energy most effectively."
Bell is an avid reader of corporate management books, including the popular "7 Habits of Highly Effective People," by Stephen Covey.
He said he has adapted a number of principles in his own day-to-day work that he thinks can be successful in the overall administration of the hospital.
For example, he believes in "making a list of things to do and prioritizing time. There are certain things on your `to do' list that you don't leave your office without doing. Nothing stays on my desk longer than a seven-day period."
Bell relinquishes day-to-day control of operations to Purves, who completed his internship and residency in health-care administration at Roanoke Memorial in 1980 and returned as a vice president in 1987. In between, he worked in Texas and Tennessee.
Until last year, Bell had been chief operating officer. The position has been vacant since January 1992.
Purves, 36, has been responsible for clinical departments and cardiac services, including the Roanoke Memorial Regional Heart Center and HeartNet of the Virginias, which is comprised of 12 hospitals in Western Virginia and eastern West Virginia.
Although he has become familiar with most departments in the hospital during the past six years, Purves said, he is in the "middle of a transition period" as he hones his knowledge of the entire facility.