Ruth Brinkley resigned late last week as CEO of KentuckyOne Health. The news comes just one week after the struggling health system put its Louisville hospitals up for sale to focus on its markets in Lexington and eastern Kentucky.
Brinkley will stay on until September to help her replacement, long-time Louisville hospital administrator Chuck Neumann, transition into the role. Neumann currently works for KentuckyOne as interim president of the University of Louisville Hospital.
He is leaving that post on July 1, when a joint operating agreement between KentuckyOne and the academic medical center is severed at the behest of both partners. He takes the helm of KentuckyOne on July 14, the company announced.
Brinkley has served as CEO of KentuckyOne since 2012 when the operating division of Catholic Health Initiatives was created through the merger of Louisville-based Jewish Hospital & St. Mary's Healthcare and St. Joseph Health System in Lexington.
"As CEO, she developed the statewide structure for a complex organization, and established the vision and purpose for our path forward," said Richard Schultz, chairman of the KentuckyOne board of directors.
The health system is seeking buyers for Jewish Hospital, Frazier Rehab Institute, Sts. Mary & Elizabeth Hospital, four Medical Center Jewish facilities, Jewish Hospital Shelbyville, St. Joseph Martin and KentuckyOne Health Medical Group provider practices in Louisville and Martin.
CHI is having its own financial problems. It is in affiliation talks with another Catholic-sponsored giant, Dignity Health in San Francisco.
