Embattled Key West hospital names new CEO

Lower Keys Medical Center in Key West named a new chief executive on Friday, three months after its top boss of 13 years resigned abruptly in the face of mounting criticism over patient care and billing practices.

David Clay will relocate to Key West from Hamlet, N.C., with his wife Gayla and take the job Nov. 28, the hospital announced Friday.

Clay, CEO of Sandhills Regional Medical Center in North Carolina, said during the interview process he spoke with LKMC employees, doctors and board members, along with community leaders.

“Together, we will continue to enhance the quality of care and patient experience and work toward our goal of becoming a trusted healthcare resource for the Lower Keys,” Clay said in a prepared statement.

Clay arrived in Sandhills in December 2014 after the hospital was bought by Community Health Systems, which owns LKMC, and under his leadership Sandhills scored double-digit improvements in its federal review, Community Health says. He was named by Becker’s Hospital Review as one of the top 50 rural hospital CEOS for 2016.

Sandhills is a three-star rated hospital under the same federal survey that rated LKMC a one star.

“David’s experience will complement our work to grow services, recruit new providers and increase patient, physician and employee satisfaction,” said Dr. Robin Lockwood, chairman of the LKMC Board of Trustees.

Before running Sandhills, Clay worked at hospitals in North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Oklahoma. He started out as a respiratory therapist in Wichita, Kan., after earning a master’s degree in health-care administration from Wichita State University, where he did his undergraduate work.

Lower Keys Medical is a 167-bed for-profit hospital at 5900 College Road on Stock Island, one of three hospitals in the Keys. Mariners Hospital is in Tavernier, owned by Baptist Health; and Fishermen’s Community in Marathon is locally owned.

After CEO Nicki Will quit as CEO in July, Community Health Systems, based in Franklin, Tenn., sent in Stephen Pennington as interim CEO.

This story was originally published October 28, 2016 at 12:32 PM with the headline "Embattled Key West hospital names new CEO."