Blair Kent, CEO of MemorialCare’s Long Beach (Calif.) Medical Center and Miller Children’s and Women’s Hospital Long Beach, has retired from the organization following a leave of absence, a spokesperson confirmed to Becker’s.
Mr. Kent’s retirement comes amid multiple rounds of layoffs and other labor turmoil at the hospital, including a one-day nurses strike in May.
Frank Beirne was appointed interim CEO for Long Beach Medical Center and Miller Children’s and Women’s Hospital Long Beach. Richele Steele, vice president of communications and public relations at Fountain Valley, Calif.-based MemorialCare, declined to address additional questions about Mr. Kent’s retirement, citing company policy.
Mr. Kent was appointed CEO in December 2022 and assumed the role in January 2023. He succeeded John Bishop, who resigned in July 2022.
In a June 2 internal memo and obtained by the Long Beach Watchdog, MemorialCare President David Kim informed staff that “processes are underway to identify qualified candidates and recruit a permanent CEO,” and added that Mr. Beirne will continue in the position on an interim basis.
In May, MemorialCare confirmed plans to lay off 115 positions as part of operational and workflow changes across LBMC and Miller Children’s and Women’s. Those reductions, which include nurses, technicians and other clinical and administrative staff, will be implemented by July 1.
Ms. Steele said that many of those reductions stem from a consolidation of certain units within the children’s hospital to align with patient census, a streamlining of operations in the outpatient children’s village to improve care delivery, and the closure of a blood donor center.
Most recently, Ms. Steele said LBMC and Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital are “implementing operational and workflow changes to align with industry best practices and to enhance productivity and efficiency.”
As a part of those operational changes, the case management department was restructured, she added. “Due to the requirements for assessment and planning within the case manager role, the department has been restructured to an RN case-manager model.”
Ms. Steele said the most recent action involved 22 positions. Now, all case managers will be licensed registered nurses.
“The hospitals remain committed to maintaining services needed by the community and to providing high-quality care to their patients,” she said.
In February 2024, MemorialCare laid off 72 employees, including 13 positions at Long Beach Medical Center’s outpatient retail pharmacy, which closed. In March 2024, the health system also announced 60 job cuts at its Long Beach campus.
