A recruitment company that evaluated over 2,000 eligible candidates from around the country to succeed Harvey Holzberg as Hoboken University Medical Center’s Chief Executive Officer has recommended an executive already working at the hospital.
Holzberg will recommend Vice President of Administration Spiros Hatiras as Chief Operational Officer to the Municipal Hospital Board for their approval at their next meeting. Hospital officials said last week that they anticipate the COO position will lead to a CEO appointment in three months, if the board approves.
While officials await the board approval, they are negotiating a COO contract with Hatiras.
A committee that included board members and other officials, Mayor David Roberts among them, interviewed finalists for the position before communicating the outcome to Holzberg, who will make the recommendation for the board.
Holzberg has been planning to leave the hospital since he came on as CEO. “I’ve been pleased with what we’ve been able to accomplish,” Holzberg said last week. He will stay on as a consultant until the end of the year.
Holzberg, who collects an $800,000 salary, said on Friday that he is not sure what his capacity at HUMC will be after that, but said, “I’ll be around.”
Hatiras did not return calls for a comment last week.
Was the search successful?
People close to the recruitment said that two of the three finalists for the position took their names out of consideration at the last minute.
Another source claimed that those candidates were offered promotions and/or raises from their current employers to stay on, while another source speculated that they may have been scared away by the tight fiscal situation at the hospital.
Holzberg denied suggestions that other candidates were scared off.
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He said Hatiras’ knowledge of internal operations and community issues gave him the edge over other candidates. Holzberg denied suggestions that other candidates were scared off.
A person involved in the interview process said Hatiras was not the first choice among the three finalists. “Honestly, no one was for him,” the person said. “But he could turn out to do great things.”
Another anonymous official said that other candidates were very highly qualified, but could not be lured to the tenuous fiscal situation at HUMC.
The hospital was over budget last year and is planning to lay off five percent of the workforce this year. Officials said the hospital expects a 15 percent increase in revenue from the ER renovation that will be finished over the summer, but still needs to cut 15 percent of its budget to break even.
Board chairman to resign
Board Chairman James Caufield recently announced to the board that he will resign his seat after the completion of the new Emergency Room.
Caufield was not available to discuss his situation last week, but some sources claim he was not satisfied with the search and that it may have played a part in his decision to leave.
Publicly, Caufield cited business engagements as the reason for his scheduled departure.
Timothy J. Carroll may be reached at tcarroll@hudsonreporter.com.