Jason Studley has resigned as CEO of Greenwood Leflore Hospital as it continues to pursue an affiliation he has endorsed with the University of Mississippi Medical Center.
The resignation, announced in a memo Friday from Studley to the hospital’s employees and medical staff, took effect immediately.
“At this time, I need to dedicate my focus to exploring other opportunities that may secure my own family’s future,” Studley wrote.
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The 45-year-old administrator has been serving as the Greenwood hospital’s CEO since October 2020. Although he had previously indicated that an affiliation with a larger medical institution would most likely eliminate his job, the timing of Friday’s departure seemed to catch some at the hospital off-guard.
There was no announcement of whether an interim CEO would be appointed. Gary Marchand, who served as the interim CEO prior to Studley’s hiring, has continued to work part time at the hospital and is expected to assume at least some of the top administrator’s duties.
Efforts to get comment from Harris Powers Jr., chairman of the hospital board, were not immediately successful.
Studley said he had come to a mutual understanding with the board that oversees the publicly owned hospital that the timing was right for him to depart. On Monday, according to Studley, the board is expected to recommend to the Greenwood City Council and the Leflore County Board of Supervisors that they seek proposals for a joint-operating agreement between the Greenwood hospital and a larger medical institution. Studley said it is unlikely that the hospital board will recommend a specific partner, but the hospital has been in talks recently with the University of Mississippi Medical Center on just such an arrangement.
“I want to assure you that the joint operations plans with UMMC have been well-planned, and will continue as mapped out, even in my absence,” Studley wrote in the memo announcing his resignation.
An affiliation with the state’s largest hospital would have to be approved by the City Council and the Board of Supervisors as well as by the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning Board.
Studley, a Missouri native, came on board as CEO at a turbulent time, as the Greenwood hospital navigated the considerable difficulties posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. These exacerbated its already troubled financial condition.
“We have faced many unprecedented challenges, yet despite all odds, you all have shown your dedication to providing the highest quality care for our community,” Studley said in his memo to the employees and medical staff. “You should be very proud of yourselves. I know I am very proud to have been a part of your accomplishments.”
Although the hospital received since 2020 almost $32.6 million in coronavirus relief money, the grants provided only a temporary respite as it continued to be plagued by rising costs and low patient volumes. Through the first eight months of the current fiscal year, the hospital has posted a loss of almost $9 million, and the administration has said it has only enough cash to operate through the end of 2022 without dramatic changes.
In May, the hospital announced it was laying off 30 of its 800 employees. Included in the layoffs were at least two physicians.
Studley said his departure is also a necessary cost-cutting move.
“My personal hardships do not outweigh the benefit to the community,” he said. “It was a decision I needed to make just for the betterment of everybody. ... We’ve got to be able to get to the close date, and so sacrifices needed to be made.”
He said he is currently exploring a couple of different employment options, both in Mississippi and outside the state.
Studley said he is grateful to the community that embraced his family, including his wife, Jennifer, and their two teenage children, and the dedicated spirit he found at Greenwood Leflore Hospital.
He said in all his previous years of hospital administration, he had not experienced the type of camaraderie he found with the medical staff in Greenwood.
“It’s been an absolute pleasure to serve with such a close-knit group.”
- Contact Tim Kalich at 662-581-7243 or tkalich@gwcommonwealth.com.
