Gila Regional Medical Center’s Board of Trustees unanimously voted to accept the letter of resignation from Brian Bentley, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective August 2, 2013.  Mr. Bentley has given years of service and dedication to the hospital. The Board appreciates his hard work and commitment to Gila Regional.

“After 37 years in healthcare and 27 as a hospital CEO, I believe I have arrived at an appropriate time to transition into retirement,” stated Bentley “I have truly enjoyed working with many of the talented physicians and caregivers at GRMC and will miss the personal relationships.”

Assistant Vice-President of Operations, Brian Cunningham, was asked to step in as interim CEO, effective August 5, 2013. Cunningham for the past three years has served as CEO understudy in the GRMC Succession Planning Program.

“I am honored to serve as GRMC’s acting CEO. At this time of significant transition, I will take special care to understand and address the immediate needs of our patients, our caregivers and physicians and those in our community. As the interim CEO, I am committed to providing for a more inclusive and transparent approach to addressing GRMC’s most pressing issues, which are reducing our operational costs, while delivering the highest quality patient-centered care possible for those we serve. And with so many exceptional caregivers here, I am confident that we will quickly come together to meet our challenges.”

“We are fortunate to have a strong leader in place that can step into this role while bringing a wealth of knowledge and history with Gila Regional,” said newly elected Board Chairman Charles Kelly.