Michael Huff Retires from OHH
Olney Hamilton Hospital’s longtime chief executive officer, Michael Huff, has retired from the position, the hospital board confirmed at its July 31 meeting.
Board chairman Dale Lovett said the retirement was first addressed in executive session at the board’s earlier July meeting, but he declined to discuss the circumstances in open session, citing personnel confidentiality. Mr. Huff had been on medical leave from the hospital since late May.
“He has retired,” Mr. Lovett said. Stasha Siegert, the hospital’s chief operating officer, has stepped in as acting CEO. Board members referred to her interchangeably as “interim” during the meeting.
Mr. Huff joined Olney Hamilton Hospital District as CEO in August 2011, bringing with him decades of healthcare leadership experience. He is a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives and a Board Certified Healthcare Executive, with more than 25 years of experience working in hospitals of various sizes, mostly in Texas. He holds a Master of Science degree in Healthcare Administration from Trinity University in San Antonio.
During his tenure, Mr. Huff presided over the completion of the Olney Family Clinic and the Wellness Center, the construction of the new EMS facility, issuance of $33 million in general revenue bonds to fund construction of the hospital district’s new hospital, replacing a 62-year-old facility that was at risk of falling short of federal and state guidelines. He did not remain in the CEO role long enough to see the new hospital’s completion. Mr. Huff also guided the hospital through the COVID-19 pandemic and an expansion of hospital services, though the hospital closed its maternity services last summer during his tenure. Under his leadership, the hospital also received consecutive awards from Chartis for excellence in quality, outcomes and patient perspectives as well as increased patient services in pain management, women’s health, orthopedic medicine, and spinal medicine.
Mr. Huff and his wife, Terrye, have been married more than 35 years and live in Olney.
Asked whether the board is conducting a search for a permanent CEO, Mr. Lovett said the hospital has engaged Torch Management Services Inc, a hospital management consulting firm already assisting with other hospital projects, to help guide “the discernment of what we need and the process that we follow” in filling the position. He did not provide a timeline. Asked whether the search would be publicly posted, Mr. Lovett said any related action would be posted “when it’s a board meeting” — meaning the hospital’s standard public meeting-notice process.
Ms. Siegert said having an acting CEO in place satisfies state regulatory requirements for the hospital, and that the hospital could operate that way “probably indefinitely” if needed, suggesting no fixed deadline has been set for naming a permanent replacement.
The hospital separately disclosed that Torch Management consultant Russell Bishop will be in Olney sometime during the second week of August to meet informally — described by Mr. Lovett as a “come and go” format rather than a scheduled meeting — with medical staff, department heads and other hospital personnel as part of a broader strategic self-assessment. Board members were given a discussion worksheet ahead of that visit to help organize their own questions and priorities for the hospital’s future.