By DON FLETCHER
News Staff Writer
Escambia County Healthcare Authority (ECHCA) Chair Debbie Rowell confirmed this week that the struggling healthcare authority has begun searching for the third time since 2016 for a new administrator to take over the top administrative duties at Atmore Community Hospital.
The search was necessitated by the recent resignation of Brad Lowery, a 2010 Northview High School graduate who had been in charge of hospital administration since 2021 and had served 18 months as ACH’s Deputy of Operations prior to that.
Suzanne McGill, ACH’s Director of Nursing, is rumored to be the leading candidate for an interim administrator, but Rowell indicated that rumors McGill will again be asked to take over the post might or might not turn out to be accurate. The hospital’s chief nurse filled the slot after the 2016 resignation of John Tucker, and again between Doug Tanner’s 2019 resignation and Lowery’s hiring.
“We did receive a letter of resignation from Brad,” Rowell said. “We have not named an interim administrator yet, and I’m not sure who it will be when we do. We hope to finalize things in the next couple of weeks.”
Rowell said she hates to see Lowery go but feels confident the hospital staff will continue to keep things on a level plane until a new administrator is hired or someone is named to fill the position on an interim basis.
“We’re sorry to lose him,” she said. “Brad did a great job, and we will certainly miss him. We wish him well. I feel like the staff will continue to do a great job. They are doing all they can do to keep things moving.”
Meanwhile, the county healthcare authority — which owns and operates both ACH and D.W. McMillan Memorial Hospital (DWM) in Brewton, continues to struggle financially.
ECHCA officials have attended county commission meetings in the past several months, requesting that the county implement a new 4-mill property tax to help the authority, which has expressed concern that one or both of the county’s hospitals might have to be shut down if an adequate revenue stream can’t be established.
County commissioners, who appoint ECHCA board members, reportedly explained to the ECHA representatives that the body has no authority to make decisions regarding the healthcare authority’s operations, financial or otherwise, that healthcare authority officials would likely have to go to state legislators to get such a tax on the ballot.
Escambia County property owners already pay — and have paid since 1947 — a 4-mill hospital tax levy, which reportedly puts about $2 million a year in Authority coffers.
County Commission Chair Raymond Wiggins has reportedly requested an opinion on the matter from Attorney General Steve Marshall’s office.
Rowell said the additional 4-mill tax request is still in a state of limbo.
“Thus far we have not had a response either way,” she said. “Actually, the letter will go directly to the county commission, and they will inform us of what’s in the letter.”
Plans for the new hospital to be built near Interstate 65 in Atmore are continuing despite the authority’s financial crisis.
“We’re still moving forward,” she explained. “There have been so many changes in the medical world, especially since COVID, and we are still working on a plan to come up with the right model that’s a fit for this community. We continue to move forward, also, in our search for sources of funding.”
The authority will do all it can to keep from having to close ACH, at least until the new facility is built, Rowell added.
“We want to continue to keep this hospital going until we get a new one in place,” she said.