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CaroMont board offers permanent CEO post to interim officer [The Charlotte Observer](Charlotte Observer (NC) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Oct. 16--GASTONIA -- The board of Gastonia-based CaroMont Health voted unanimously on Wednesday to extend an offer to interim chief executive officer Douglas Luckett as permanent president and CEO. Luckett was named to the interim position in April following the firing of Randall Kelley amid criticism of his management style. The action followed controversy over the name of Gaston Memorial Hospital being changed to CaroMont Regional Medical Center and the hospital marketing slogan, "Cheat Death," which was later dropped. CaroMont Regional Medical Center is a private, nonprofit hospital. The parent company -- CaroMont Health, with nearly 4,000 employees -- is the largest employer in Gaston County. County commissioners had heard physicians complain that, under Kelley, the CaroMont administration had created an environment that raised concerns that included safety, health care and adequate numbers of medical staff on duty. CaroMont board member Jason Williams, who is also a Gaston County commissioner, called Luckett a unifying force after Kelley's dismissal. "Doug stepped in at a very difficult time for the organization," Williams said. "We need his leadership to help guide us through the uncertainties of Obamacare and solidify CaroMont as a quality, independent healthcare system." Williams said the compensation committee will meet and formulate an offer and after Luckett confers with his family he will "make a decision hopefully in the coming days." Luckett joined CaroMont Health in December 2010 as executive vice president/chief operating officer. In June, he accepted the role of acting CEO, while also fulfilling his other duties in order to maintain executive leadership during the CEO transition. Before joining CaroMont, Luckett was chief administrative officer for the 349-bed Gulf Coast Medical Center in Panama City, Fla. and the 291-bed Cape Coral Hospital in Cape Coral. A U.S. Army veteran, Luckett completed the Radiologic Technology Program from Jefferson State Community College in Birmingham in 1989 and began his health career as a radiologic technologist. He earned a bachelor's from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 1994 and his master's of business administration at the University of Memphis in 1999. ___ (c)2013 The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.) Visit The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.) at www.charlotteobserver.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |