MURRAY – After whittling a pool of more than 150 candidates over the last four months, the Murray-Calloway County Hospital Board of Trustees unanimously selected Tonda Haigler to be the hospital’s next CEO after current CEO Jerry Penner retires at the end of March.
With one item on the agenda, trustees wasted no time getting down to business. From start to finish, the meeting lasted three and a half minutes. Upon calling the meeting to order, Search Committee Chair Amy Futrell took the floor.
“As you all know, the search for a CEO for our organization has been a long road,” she said. “We took this entire process very seriously as we know, as a board, this is the biggest decision that we will make. We have had applicants from all over the nation, and through a tedious process, we narrowed those 150+ applications down to a top five, four of which made site visits. We brought them on site to interview with the full board, the VPs, the directors, the medical providers and the community as a whole.
“We feel that all these candidates were very qualified, and (we had) a strong group to choose from. After the four site visits, we, as a board, read every comment, whether they were verbal or in writing. We studied those. We met and discussed those comments and what we, as a board, are looking for in our next CEO, as far as qualities and characteristics.
“The process and decision has been prayed over. It’s been discussed. It’s been deliberated very thoroughly and carefully. Saying all of that, as the chair of the Search Committee, I respectfully submit Tonda Haigler to be voted on as the next CEO of the Murray-Calloway County Hospital; and if this vote is a success, then I recommend we offer her a contract immediately.”
Futrell made the motion, which was seconded by Vice Chair Summer Cross and followed by a roll-call vote. All of the current trustees participated – Futrell, Cross, Mayor Bob Rogers, Calloway County Judge-Executive Kenny Imes, Board Chair Steve Owens, Marti Erwin, Shawn Reynolds and Joetta Kelly attended in person; Dan Renick attended via Zoom. Gale Sharp, who was appointed to the board at the last city council meeting to fill the seat left by Jane Bright, was not present.
“The board really worked hard on this,” Penner said after the meeting. “This was a very difficult decision – to replace somebody who’s been here for 14 years. I think they did a nice job outlining all of the things they were looking for today as well as what they’re looking for in a CEO for tomorrow.”“The board really worked hard on this,” Penner said after the meeting. “This was a very difficult decision – to replace somebody who’s been here for 14 years. I think they did a nice job outlining all of the things they were looking for today as well as what they’re looking for in a CEO for tomorrow.”
Haigler graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi with a bachelor’s degree in exercise science in 1998 and a master’s degree in public health/healthcare administration in 2001. In 2006, she received a second master’s degree in business administration from Mississippi State University.
Since 2019, she has served as system vice president of ambulatory services for Baptist Health of Central Alabama, a health system which she describes in her resume as a “non-profit network of three facilities” with affiliations to the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
For the 12 years prior, Haigler rose through the ranks at the for-profit system Community Health Systems, as an administrative specialist, assistant chief executive officer and, ultimately, chief operating officer at three different facilities from 2013-2019.
“They picked an absolutely excellent candidate to be my successor, no question about that. Ms. Haigler is extremely well trained. She’s been a COO at very large organizations back-to-back-to-back. She has worked both rural and metropolitan facilities before, so she’s well versed; also, not-for-profit and for-profit, so she’s going to lead with a level of expertise from the corporate world as well as the not-for-profit world that I think will be invaluable to the organization going forward.”
You can’t just say it’s at the top of the ticket. It’s really the folks that are working hard, the leadership underneath that are able to carry out the plans that the board’s set.
Jerry Penner
About being at this point in the process of finding his replacement, Penner called it bittersweet but added, “It’s time.”
“They always say you know when it’s time,” he continued. “This will be my 43rd year in healthcare, so I’m ready to power down a little bit and spend more time with my wife and my kids. … I feel pretty good (about) retiring before age 65, and it wasn’t a forced retirement. It’s nice to go out on your own terms. Let’s face it, this year will be our most successful year in, at least, the last 14 (years), certainly, the most successful year financially.”
Penner also noted that both patient and staff satisfaction are the highest they have ever been. Staff satisfaction was in the 29th percentile when he took the reins in 2011; today, it is in the 72nd percentile. Similarly, MCCH’s patient satisfaction score has gone from 87 to over 94. But Penner was quick to say that he could not take all of the credit for the hospital’s success over his tenure.
“For me to be here 14 (years) with the same group – John Wilson, Jeff Eye, Nick O’Dell, Aaron Rucker and John Bradford – (I) could not have been successful without them. They have been tremendous in working with their directors – I’ve got 30 fantastic directors out there – those VPs working with those directors has just made this a wonderful last several years for me, and you can see it in what we’ve done (over) the last eight years. The hospital’s flourished. You can’t just say it’s at the top of the ticket. It’s really the folks that are working hard, the leadership underneath that are able to carry out the plans that the board’s set. From a CEO’s perspective, they execute those to success, and I think they’ve done it really well.”
Provided she accepts the offer, Haigler will only be MCCH’s sixth CEO in more than 50 years – preceded by Stuart Poston (1972-2000), Isaac Coe (2000-2003), John O’Shaughnessy (2004-2005), Keith Bailey (2005-2010) and Penner (2011 to present) – and the first woman.
Haigler was one of four candidates who came to Murray for on-site interviews, which respectively spanned two days and included meetings with the board, hospital directors and physician staff and culminated with a public “meet and greet” event held at the Calloway County Public Library (CCPL).
Haigler’s “meet and greet” took place on Oct. 28. She shared that she is originally from Gulfport, Mississippi. She has been married to her husband Phillip for 23 years. They have two teenage boys, Paxton and Finley. Haigler proudly proclaimed herself to be a “baseball mom,” adding that on the weekends, she can usually be found at the baseball field, donning a visor.
My faith and family come first, and I work for them. My boys always come first. With that being said, I always have to make sure it’s for them. And it looks like it does, Murray does. I was driving around downtown, and it just put a smile on my face. I love the hand-painted signs on the sides of the buildings. I think one says, ‘Murray is home.’ I love that.
Tonda Haigler
The event lasted more than two hours, with the majority of that time devoted to a question-and-answer session with the audience, which included board members, community members and other stakeholders. Below is a selection of Haigler’s responses to questions posed by the audience.
The first question asked was about maintaining MCCH’s status as an independent hospital and if Haigler saw potential opportunities for future growth.
“I will tell you; the independence part is what I heard across the medical staff today when I had the privilege of meeting with them,” she replied. “The fact that you all are here today shows the ownership that you have in this hospital. I have had experience with one other county-owned hospital in my hometown. My stepfather sits on that board. I’ve seen the ups and the downs; and it’s not easy, but it’s worth it. But I think the way to stay independent is to stay financially viable, and you have to be smart.
“I’m a very disciplined person. I like to have strategic plans. I like to communicate my vision. I like to have the buy-in from people. I want their input, their feedback because my ideas are not always the best. So, I’m a very participatory leader, and with that, setting out that strategic plan. Some of the opportunities that I’ve seen, first, is women’s health services. I think that you have a cancer service line now, but there’s a really huge opportunity to really focus on some of those women’s services – a breast center, the GYN surgical side, some of those various things.
“In my background, I base my decisions on data – I don’t base all my decisions on data – it helps tell a story. I think that’s maybe a missing piece that the organization hasn’t tapped into enough.
“I like to go out there and get that market data to show me where the out-migration is going and what the service lines are that can be financially viable to bring to the hospital. The key is you want to make sure that you stay true to yourself. This is a community hospital, and you’ve got to make sure that you offer what the community needs – you don’t go and offer a service that nobody wants and is not needed. But there are things that really can be financially viable and bring, possibly, more margin to the bottom line so you can stay independent, that will then prevent out-migration.
“That would take time for me to come in, assess the landscape, get to know the partners, get to know the physicians, the community leaders, get to know you, and next, create that plan and execute. That’s one of the biggest opportunities that I see.”
“The thing I’ve seen about this community is the hospitality is amazing, but the second piece is that I do see myself being able to raise my family here, my boys,” Haigler said in response to a question about her impression of the community. “I have four and a half more years with them, and I want to make it great. Certain areas aren’t as safe, and the school systems aren’t as great. That’s two of the things I’m looking for, and this area, you can see it has it. And that’s important to me. My faith and family come first, and I work for them. My boys always come first. With that being said, I always have to make sure it’s for them, and it looks like it does. Murray does. I was driving around downtown, and it just put a smile on my face. I love the hand-painted signs on the sides of the buildings. I think one says, ‘Murray is home.’ I love that.”
Multiple audience members inquired about Haigler’s thoughts on maintaining service lines that are not profitable.
“I think there are certain things from a community perspective that you have to say, ‘You know what, it doesn’t make money, but it’s a service to the community,’” Haigler explained. “Now, you have to be financially viable to stay independent, but there are certain things that you are willing to do to make sure that the community is taken care of.
“When I had the ability to tour your hospice house, I actually had a tear in my eye. It was beautiful. They told me about how they had a wedding for a granddaughter for one of the gentlemen who was a resident, and that was really great. So, that’s part of being a community hospital. (In) my for-profit experience, it probably wouldn’t have happened.
“That’s why, after 13 years, I lost connection to why I got into healthcare. That’s why I purposefully looked for not-for-profit – because during COVID, when we didn’t always do what was right financially, we did what we (needed to do) to take care of the patient. … I think we just have to be smart, and I think we have to see what’s right for the community and honor and respect history.”
Piggy-backing on the previous question, Haigler was asked if she would commit to maintaining three specific service lines – obstetrics, psychiatry and the Anna Mae Owens Residential Hospice House.
“Not knowing the full landscape of everything, I will commit to doing what is right for the organization and the community,” she said. “With the hospice house, I think the community has already said, ‘We’re committed.’ I think that’s not even on the table. I think OB is one of those things, like I said earlier for women’s services, you capture that female, you capture the whole family.
“… So, I think you have to be smart, you have to be wise when you look at these things. Behavioral health (for example), a lot of times, behavioral health is not financially viable, but if you have a lot of behavioral health patients in the ED, how do you take that pressure off of the ED and find them a better suitable setting and location? So, those are the kinds of questions I would ask myself. I think that’s where the data – from an outmigration standpoint, from a financial revenue standpoint, you have to take all that in and create that story to help make decisions. So, that’s my commitment.”
One audience member asked Haigler about how she plans to be involved in the community.
“My first involvement,” she said, “will be with my church and my boys’ school because that’s where my heart is first and foremost. Then, what I do is I seek out opportunities to provide service back to where my passion is at that moment in time in my life. Before my children, when I was a young executive, I was sitting on Young Professionals. I was on the board of United Way. I was on the board of March of Dimes after having my boys because I knew how hard it was to have children, and it resonated with me. So, I’ve always tried to find some (way to) contribute back.”
“I’ve been in physician recruitment since I started in healthcare,” Haigler said when asked about her strategy for recruiting physicians.
“With that being said, part of it’s the community and the commitment to the organization that draws physicians in. I’ve heard it loud and clear, the thing that attracts them here is that it’s independent and they’re invested in the community. The other part is that you have great school systems, and it’s safe here. Hands-down, that’s easy – I have to recruit to a capital city (presently) where the cost of living is higher, and you have to send your kids to private school. Some of those are benefits you already have here.
“The other piece is being competitive with salary because you want to retain them. You don’t just want to get them here and have them be here for a couple of years and then go somewhere else. That’s where my strength comes in. My team can recruit someone, but it’s the retention part; it’s making sure the operations are strong in the hospital, that they get the tools and the resources they need and that they feel welcome in the community. That’s a huge piece.
“One thing I’ve done at three organizations, we implemented what’s called POST – physician onboarding support team. The second part is: they’re here now; don’t just cut them off. We’re still checking on them, taking them out into the community; we’re still ‘recruiting’ them even though they’re here. I put myself in their shoes. How would I want to be treated? I wouldn’t want to be forgotten just because I’ve got a name badge now.”
Another audience member posed a question about Haigler’s level of comfortability working in a hospital that is a public agency.
“All of my experience, to be quite honest, has a been for-profit experience or now where I’m at (in a not-for-profit hospital), and it’s not public,” she replied. “You know, it’s part of the set-up here. In all honesty, there’s nothing to hide. Full transparency.
“But I will be honest, I think there are certainly times that we’re talking about something strategic that probably needs to be somewhat close to the vest until we’re ready to publicize it. Timing is everything. So, it’s not holding back, it’s just timing. But transparency is the best approach to everything.”
We hope you enjoyed the story you just read! To bring it to you, our reporters had to attend, record and photograph all four “meet and greet” sessions so that we could report substantively as soon as this long-awaited decision was made. That took planning and foresight, but it also took a lot of time. Contributions from readers like you allow us to pay our staff for the time they put into producing quality news that matters.
But it gets even better! Through our partnership with NewsMatch, your support goes twice as far! Until Dec. 31, all contributions will be matched dollar-for-dollar (up to $1,000/donor), and recurring donations will be matched at their 12-month value. Double your impact by donating today! The community will thank you, and we do, too.😊
