Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems' Rachel A. Seifert, who serves as executive vice president, secretary and general counsel, announced plans to retire at the end of March 2017. She has been with the organization since 1998.
Ms. Seifert joined CHS as the sole member of its legal department, which she has helped grow. She came to the health system from Nashville, Tenn.-based Hospital Corporation of America, then called Columbia/HCA, where she was vice president and associate general counsel.
Ben Fordham, who currently serves as senior vice president and chief litigation counsel, will serve as interim general counsel after Ms. Seifert retires.
Ms. Seifert's retirement comes on the heels of a troubled 2016 for the healthcare giant. CHS, in debt to the tune of $15 billion, undertook a number of measures to correct its financial issues. It is selling 17 hospitals and other assets to generate an expected $1.2 billion in working capital.
Additionally, earlier this week, a Tennessee-based federal judge approved a $60 million agreement the health system inked with investors to resolve breach of fiduciary duty allegations.