Palos Community Hospital CEO out after less than three months

(Story updated at 5:25 p.m. ET.)

The new CEO at Palos Community Hospital is no longer with the hospital, an abrupt end to his tenure just under three months after he started.

Reached by phone this morning, Edgardo Tenreiro confirmed he was no longer employed at the Palos Heights-based hospital. He declined further comment.

“That's right,” he said. “I can't really talk about it.”

Sources said his employment ended yesterday. A hospital spokeswoman refused to comment.

“There isn't anything I want to say at this time,” said Edward Mulcahy, chairman of the hospital's board of directors.

Mr. Tenreiro, 50, came to Palos on Nov. 15 from Baton Rouge Regional Medical Center in Louisiana, where he was chief operations officer. At Palos, he took over for Sister Margaret Wright, who headed the 362-bed hospital for more than 30 years.

Mr. Tenreiro told Crain's in January that his strategy for Palos would likely include affiliations and partnerships with physicians and other hospitals so the hospital could “remain relevant for the future.” The hospital posted $375.5 million in revenue 2012.

The head of a south suburban Chicago physician practice said this afternoon that the news of Mr. Tenreiro's departure came as a surprise. David Seaman, CEO of Blue Island-based physicians group Pronger Smith Medical Care, added that he had corresponded with Mr. Tenreiro as recently as Feb. 7 and the CEO had met three times in recent months with the group's leadership.

“Nobody in our group had any reservations about him,” said Mr. Seaman. “From our perspective, it would been too early for us to judge” Mr. Tenreiro as an executive.

The hospital has not contacted Pronger today, Mr. Seaman added. With $62.3 million in revenue in 2012, Pronger is the 15th-largest practice group in the Chicago area, according to Crain's 2014 Book of Lists.

"Palos Community Hospital CEO out after under three months" originally appeared in Crain's Chicago Business.