The Mon Health System Board of Directors has named a new interim CEO of Mon Health System and Mon Health Medical Center.
Thomas Senker, who previously served as the president and CEO of Mon Health for 16 years, from 1983-1999, will assume the interim post on Thursday.
He currently serves as founder and principal of Grace Healthcare Advisors, a consulting firm in Charleston, S.C., that delivers leadership, management and governance solutions to the healthcare industry.
System employees learned of the hiring earlier this week via a companywide email. The Dominion Post learned of it on Friday via an email purported to come from board acting chair Ron Stovash. The email contained derogatory comments about Senker.
A call to Mon Health verified that Senker was hired. But Mon Health determined that the email address was bogus. “Mr. Stovash did not issue a communiqué with that information included.”
Mon Health then emailed a statement regarding Senker’s hiring, a copy of the internal announcement, which contained a few more details about Senker’s history, and a third email answering questions sent by The Dominion Post.
Following last week’s announcements of the resignations of former President and CEO Darryl Duncan and interim CEO Dottie Oakes, Mon Health said a leadership team was running the system. Asked about the decision to hire another interim, Mon Health said, “The board of directors asked for input from various stakeholder groups before determining to [refill] the interim role. The decision was made this week.
“The board always considered an interim role would be appropriate,” Mon Health said. “We have an outstanding team of talented professionals on our senior management team. Our team needs a captain or leader. The board believed this addition with our current leaders would just continue our mission serving our communities.”
Regarding Senker in particular, the board asked for recommendations from people in the healthcare sector, which provided a basis for this selection.
A 1999 report from The Dominion Post archives says Senker helped Mon Health grow from just Mon General Hospital and Monongalia Emergency Medical Services to an operation, including Mon HealthCare Equipment and Supplies, Mon General Hospital Foundation, MonPointe Continuing Care Center, The Village at Heritage Point retirement village, Community Medical Associates primary care centers and a number of joint ventures.
A 2000 report about the state legislature considering a bill intended to prohibit hospitals from investing in businesses not associated with healthcare noted that Senker guided Mon General out of threat of foreclosure.
In his first year as head of Mon General, 1983, the hospital diverted $2.7 million from the nonprofit organization to its private corporation, Monongalia Health Systems. But a creditor was owed $18 million and objected to the transfer, nearly forcing the foreclosure.
At the time of the 2000 report, Senker was interim president of Logan General Hospital and guiding it through a bankruptcy crisis sparked by his predecessor, who invested $20 million of nonprofit hospital corporation money in a shopping mall.
Since then, Senker has served in such roles as West Penn Allegheny Health System president and CEO, Newton (N.J.) Memorial Hospital president, vice president of Atlantic Health System, and member of EPIC Extremity (Cranberry Township, Pa.) Board of Managers.
Meanwhile, Mon Health said it has a search committee represented by all of the system, hospitals and community moving forward to select a permanent president and CEO. They expect to have the search completed by September.
