For the second time this week, a hospital in the greater Baton Rouge area has announced that its leadership is in transition.
Lane Regional Medical Center in Zachary says its CEO of roughly 13 years, Randy Olson, is retiring to spend more time with his family.
“I currently have four grandbabies in Tennessee, and since my wife and I have a second home in Bristol our plan is to live there full-time in order to spend as much time with them as possible,” Olson says in a statement.
Wednesday’s announcement of Olson’s retirement came just one day after Baton Rouge General Health System announced the abrupt departure of its CEO and President Mark Slyter.
Olson’s exit will not be as abrupt. His last day on the job will be decided after a national search committee finds his replacement. The process could take several months, the hospital says.
Joan Lansing, chair of the hospital’s board of commissioners, says everyone will miss Olson, but a smooth transition can take place since he’s made the hospital aware of his retirement plans early.
“By sharing his retirement plans with us early, he has given us plenty of time to form a search committee and launch a national recruitment process to select his successor and ensure a smooth transition,” Lansing says in a statement.
Olson became interim CEO of Lane Regional Medical Center in 2003, and was named CEO seven months later.
During his tenure, he added new services and expanded technology, and the hospital also built the new Lane Cardiovascular Center, Medical Office Building III, a helipad, and the Lane Medical Plaza & Outpatient Diagnostic Center.
Olson will continue to oversee day-to-day operations during the transition, the hospital says. He will also continue to move forward with the hospital’s current plans for future expansion and renovations, physician recruitment and service line growth.
