Capella Healthcare selects new advisory board under REIT owner

Capella Healthcare, a privately held hospital and healthcare company, has constituted a new advisory board of directors with the power to approve annual capital expenditures and operating budgets, the company said in a release Friday.

The board, chaired by Capella founder Dan Slipkovich, also evaluates the performance of the CEO, in this case, Mike Wiechart.

In September, Medical Properties trust, a REIT, paid $900 million for Capella's real estate and a minority of its operations. The seller was private-equity firm GTCR and affiliated funds.

Franklin, Tenn.-based Capella has 10 acute-care and specialty hospitals in five states. Its revenue in 2014, the most recent year available, was $713.4 million.

The for-profit company has 10 members on its advisory board, including Slipkovich and Wiechart. Others with three-year terms are:

• Robert Hensley, a former Arthur Andersen executive and Capella board member for seven years on the previous board

• Kathy Hewitt, board chair of EASTAR Health System in Muskogee, Okla.

• Dr. Tallulah Holmstrom, chief medical officer for Carolina Pines Regional Medical Center in Hartsville, S.C. and KershawHealth in Camden, S.C.

• Dr. Donald Lighter, professor and core faculty for the Physicians' Executive MBA program at the University of Tennessee

• Jerry Mabry, Capella's Arkansas market president

• Mark Medley, president of hospital operations for Capella

• Meredith Nelson, chief financial officer of Willamette Valley Medical Center in McMinnville, Ore.

• Dr. Stephen Snow, an orthopedic surgeon affiliated with Capital Medical Center in Olympia, Wash.

The advisory board also will provide guidance to Capella on quality, service and patient safety, according to the release.