Three finalists to be the new chief executive officer of Bartlett Regional Hospital, including its current chief financial officer, are scheduled to be interviewed and participate in public meet-and-greets starting next week.
The next CEO will take over as the hospital is facing a major financial crisis and restructuring of programs, and following three years of turmoil among top leadership including a multitude of temporary and permanent CEO appointments.
Current Interim CEO Ian Worden started the job last Oct. 30 and is scheduled to continue serving through December “to allow for overlap and ensure a smooth transition,” according to a press release issued by the hospital Thursday.
A total of 58 applications were received, with 15 candidates selected for virtual interviews with a CEO search committee leading up to the selection of the three finalists. The three finalists and their biographies as provided by the hospital are:
• Jon Friedenberg, a healthcare consultant with Friedenberg Healthcare Consulting. He has served as president and chief operating officer of MarinHealth Medical Center in Greenbrae, California, and vice president of El Camino Hospital in Mountain View, California. He also served as CEO of Mary Crowley Cancer Research in Dallas.
• Melanee Tiura, current administrator of Providence Valdez Medical Center. She has served as CEO of Iliuliuk Family and Health Services in Unalaska, director of physician services at UP Health System — Portage in Hancock, Michigan, and community health services division manager at the Bristol Bay Area Health Corporation in Dillingham.
• Joe Wanner, current CFO at Bartlett. He was also the hospital’s controller from 2011 to 2013 and CFO from 2017 to 2018. He served as CFO and chief operating officer at Wallowa County Health Care District in Enterprise, Oregon, between 2018 and 2023, and CFO at Wallowa between 2013 and 2017.
Public meet-and-greets at the hospital’s gallery are scheduled for Tiura at 4 p.m. Monday, Aug. 26; Wanner at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 28; and Friedenberg at 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 6.
“The Board will hold a special board meeting the following morning after each CEO finalist’s day on campus to conduct their final interview,” the hospital’s press release notes. “Interviews will begin at 8:00 a.m. in open public session and will take place in the boardroom on the hospital campus and be streamed over Zoom (view schedule). Approximately halfway through each interview, the Board will recess into executive session for the remainder of the interview. Following the final interview on September 7, the Board will recess into executive session for deliberations.”
The new CEO will be announced once an offer has been accepted, according to the hospital.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com or (907) 957-2306.
