🔒Saint Vincent Hospital searching for new CEO

Less than one year after Denten Park became CEO of Saint Vincent Hospital, the Worcester facility is searching for his replacement, on top of its existing search for a new chief nursing officer. Tenet Healthcare, the Dallas-based operator of Saint Vincent, posted the CEO job listing Tuesday on its website. “The Chief Executive Officer will be responsible to lead by example, setting clear strategies and performance expectations in an environment of participation and collaboration with senior management, physicians, and the Joint Advisory Board(s),” the post reads. Park is still listed as the Worcester hospital’s CEO on Saint Vincent’s website, and his LinkedIn has not been updated since he served as CEO of Northwest Health in Arkansas, beginning in 2018. Neither Park nor Tenet replied to WBJ’s request for comment. The CEO job posting offers a yearly compensation between $300,000 and $450,000. The role requires at least an undergraduate degree in business, health care administration, or another field, but a master’s degree is strongly preferred. Park joined Saint Vincent and became the CEO of Tenet’s Massachusetts market in February following the sudden exit of Carolyn Jackson. Jackson had served in those roles for six years, longer than any CEO of a Tenet-run hospital in Central Massachusetts in the past decade. Park assumed his role as the hospital was under investigation by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, which began in August 2024. DPH launched another investigation into the hospital this past August, prompted by a complaint received on Aug. 22. The investigation was still ongoing as of Oct. 8. In addition to its CEO listing, Tenet has a job post searching for a new CNO, a role left vacant since Denise Kvapil left the role in February. “The role assumes responsibility for assessing, planning, coordinating, implementing, and evaluating nursing practice on a facility level. The role assumes 24/7 responsibility and has accountability to ensure high quality, safe and appropriate nursing care, competency of clinical staff, and appropriate resource management related to patient care,” the CNO job posting reads. The role requires an academic degree in nursing and a master’s degree in nursing or a related field. Tenet is offering an annual compensation between $185,000 and $265,000. Saint Vincent’s new CNO will be stepping into a difficult role as the Massachusetts Nurses Association, the labor union representing nurses at the facility, has filed hundreds of complaints against the hospital, citing unsafe working and staffing conditions leading to negative patient outcomes. The hospital is ensnared in a whistleblower lawsuit, filed Aug. 1 in Worcester County Superior Court on behalf of Carla LeBlanc, who claimed she was fired following her appearance on a podcast in which she shared concerns over patient conditions. In January 2022, hospital nurses ended an unprecedented 301-day strike, the longest nurses strike in Massachusetts history, with the ratification of a new contract. Mica Kanner-Mascolo is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the healthcare and diversity, equity, and inclusion industries.