The new head of Washington's public psychiatric institution has just one other hospital stint on his resume: chief executive of an American Indian reservation's hospital where emergency services were halted because federal and tribal officials said they posed a risk to patients.
James Edward Kyle was chosen by Washington Mayor Muriel E. Bowser to take over as chief executive of St. Elizabeths Hospital in Southeast Washington on March 2, the Washington Post reported.
Kyle, 50, spent four months at the helm of a South Dakota Indian Health Service facility at risk of losing federal Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements after a series of discoveries, including what officials said was an unattended woman giving birth on the floor.
Rosebud Sioux Tribe council representative William Bear Shield said the hospital's troubles started before Kyle's arrival in July, but they did not improve while he was there.
"I don't know they got any worse," Bear Shield said. "I could definitely tell you nothing got better while he was here."
Kyle told the newspaper in an email that he is qualified for the position and enthusiastic about his new job.
According to Kyle's resume, Kyle served in the U.S. Army for nine years and worked as a manager for a nursing agency and as a professor and diversity officer at a for-profit online university. He also worked for a year as a nurse recruiter at a Veterans Affairs health center in San Francisco.
Bowser's spokesman declined to say why the mayor selected him.
"I'm excited about the opportunity to build on the work that has taken place," Kyle wrote. "We are focused on delivering high quality care at Saint Elizabeths Hospital."
