ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, May 16, 1996 TAG: 9605160039
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: ELISSA MILENKY STAFF WRITER
Columbia Montgomery Regional Hospital has named its new chief executive officer.
David Williams, head of a medical center in Myrtle Beach, S.C., will begin his new job June 1. The announcement comes just a few weeks after Gene Wright, Montgomery Regional's top executive during the last three years, left to oversee three hospitals in South Carolina.
"This is an extremely successful hospital," said Williams, a 37-year-old Florida native. "I'm just hoping to maintain and contribute to that success."
Montgomery Regional is part of Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp, the largest health care services provider in the country. The Grand Strand Regional Medical Center, where Williams has worked for the past nine years, is part of the Columbia system.
Montgomery Regional's board of trustees chose Williams on Monday from a pool of four other applicants it interviewed. William Sterrett Jr., chairman of the board, said the candidates met with the hospital's management staff and physicians during the interview process.
"This hospital has come a long way the last three years under Gene [Wright]," Sterrett said. "We needed someone who was able to continue the direction we're going and the programs that have been started. David fit the mold."
Wright announced in early April he was leaving for Charleston, S.C., to oversee three Columbia hospitals, placing the board into hiring mode almost immediately. Columbia/HCA gave the board a list of candidates, which eventually was whittled down to four contenders.
Williams "has the experience, he made a good presentation and impression on the board of trustees and the employees and medical staff," Sterrett said. "He met a lot of the physicians and everyone was very impressed with him, how he handled himself."
Williams earned a master's in health administration from Tulane University in 1984. Before his job in South Carolina, he worked for the North Broward Hospital District in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
LENGTH: Short : 46 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: headshot of Williamsby CNB