THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 23, 1995 TAG: 9502230354
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARIE JOYCE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Short : 47 lines
Barbara H. Biehner, chief operating officer of Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters, has stepped down as part of a corporate restructuring at the hospital.
Biehner, whose last day was Wednesday, left on good terms with hospital management, according to Amy Sampson, the hospital's director of public relations.
The position of chief operating officer was eliminated as part of the effort to streamline operations and cut costs, Sampson said.
``It's not about the person. It's about the function,'' she said.
Biehner, who was not available for comment Wednesday night, will not be taking another job with the organization.
Sampson said Biehner addressed department heads and division chiefs Wednesday, discussing her reasons for leaving.
Biehner, 37, had held her post for more than six years. She also has worked for Sentara Health System and Chesapeake General Hospital, and the children's hospital in Washington, D.C.
Among her recent responsibilities at King's Daughters was leading the completion of the new $72 million hospital addition in August, with the attendant job of moving patients, staff and equipment into it.
For a time, she and other senior managers took on the duties of chief executive officer when Stephen S. Perry unexpectedly resigned in January 1994. Biehner chose not to apply for Perry's job, according to an interview she gave The Virginian-Pilot last fall, and Perry was replaced by Robert I. Bonar Jr.
In a statement to employees, Bonar praised Biehner's work, saying she ``has served us with diligence, loyalty and devotion. . . . She led the charge to gain the state's acceptance of our expansion plans and drove us through the tremendous process of building, changing and moving. . .
``Though it may be difficult to understand why this change was necessary, especially given Barb's performance and leadership, we must reduce our management ranks, must cut our costs, must have fewer lines between staff and senior administrators and must change our structure in order to compete.''
Biehner's duties will be taken over by Bonar and others in senior management, Sampson said. by CNB