Sometimes you just get lucky. Obici is experiencing such serendipity with the hiring of Rosemary Check as the new chief

executive officer of the facility.

The board must have been impressed by her credentials as a hospital administrator,

serving most recently at Sentara Bayside Hospital in Virginia Beach.

They must have also scrutinized her long list of achievements including maintaining Bayside in a favorable financial position during her five years there. I bet they also saw the sincerity and quiet confidence she exuded during the interview sessions, but there are other things they will come to appreciate over time.

I became acquainted with Rosemary Check when we both worked for Sentara. I was a senior vice president in an area that did not have a lot of contact with her, but many of my close associates interacted with her frequently. I read the reports that circulated about her activities and the improvements she initiated. I also heard the inevitable hospital scuttlebutt about disgruntled doctors, disaffected staff and community opinion.

The thing I remember most about her leadership is the integrity and fairness with which she approached every challenge. I was impressed by her sharp mind and her ability to get to the underlying causes of complex problems.

I was heartened by her clear and compassionate communication with patients, doctors, staff and community leaders. The results she achieved in quality of care, patient satisfaction and fiscal responsibility speak for themselves. I look forward to her leadership of a hospital in our city.

I have not been a fan of Obici’s recent construction efforts.

There seems to be a lot of wasted space for a facility where &uot; Every inch is devoted to healing.&uot;

The walk through the lobby to reach an interior destination leaves every elderly person I have ever taken there panting like an overworked hunting dog in one hundred degree heat.

I will refrain from critiquing the emergency waiting area and the

units that seem much too long for adequate observation of patients at the end of the hall. These are design choices that we now have to live with.

My hope is that the new administrator will look at all aspects of the facility with fresh eyes, and use her considerable skill to make it a place of true healing, a place

we can point to with pride and confidence that all who require it will receive safe, competent, compassionate care.

Beverly Outlaw lives in Suffolk and writes an occasional column for the News-Herald. She can be reached at BJSOUTLAW@aol.com.