Central Michigan Community Hospital will soon have a new chief executive officer.

Bill Lawrence, current president for University Hospitals Health System-Richmond Medical Center in Ohio, will take over the position Oct. 15.

“(Bill) is a very seasoned health executive,” said CMCH board member Lisa Hadden, president and CEO of Mount Pleasant Chamber of Commerce. “He is a very down to earth, very approachable man who is extremely knowledgeable about trends in the health care industry.”

Lawrence will replace current CMCH president and CEO Jeffrey Collins, who resigned to accept a job offer in California.

Lawrence has a broad level of experience working in the medical field. Prior to his employment with University Hospitals Health System, he was President and CEO for Primary Health Systems, Inc. and Brentwood Hospital, both located in the Cleveland, Ohio area. He worked at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation for 23 years.

Lawrence was chosen as the result of a nation-wide search completed for CMCH by FurstGroup, a group specializing in searches for health care, Hadden said.

Lawrence comes to Michigan after already having ties to the Mount Pleasant community.

His uncle Joseph Lawrence was a professor of sociology at Central Michigan University, and his aunt worked as a secretary in the religion department.

“It is a tremendous opportunity for the hospital to be so close to the university,” Lawrence said. “Universities have incredible intellectual resources to add to communities.”

He cited CMU’s recent approval of a medical school and shared support for the program.

“What a wonderful opportunity that is. I hope to develop a strong relationship between the hospital and the medical school,” he said.

Lawrence said he is excited to look further into the programs CMCH offers and begin matching them more closely with the community’s needs. He also hopes to work with physician recruitment to bring more primary care physicians to the area.

“I recognize the importance of the hospital truly understanding the needs of the community and doing everything we can to meet those needs,” he said. “I loved the hospital from the first time I walked through the doors. Everyone greeted me with such warmth and caring. That’s something you can’t teach.”

news@cm-life.com

E-mail the author: Heidi Fenton