A new CEO, a new CFO, and three new board members. It’s a new day for the Morgan Hospital Authority, and they are ready to get things done.

“We’re going places now,� said authority chairman Terry Evans. “This group is going to do great things.� After an eight-month period which saw the hospital lose both its CEO and CFO, the authority is looking forward to a new day.

“I think things are going to start happening,� said CEO H.D. Cannington.

The group selected officers in annual elections last week, retaining Terry Evans as chairman, Sarah Burbach as vice-chairman, John Milliken as treasurer, and Jim Markley as secretary. The board also welcomed newly-appointed members Heather Whidby and Calvin Welch, as well as a former fixture on the board, retired Dr. Ken Lewis, who is filling an unexpired term vacated by Marshall Walker. Evans formally welcomed new CFO Darlena Kinnett to the group.

“We are extremely fortunate to find a local resident with such excellent credentials,� said Evans of Kinnett, who is a Morgan County resident with a master’s degree in hospital administration.

At their regular meeting last Thursday, the authority authorized the purchase of two new vans for the hospital’s Senior Life Center, and reviewed progress being made in the installation of new paint, carpets, and furniture in patient rooms. They also discussed the upcoming annual “Festival of Friends� fundraiser, an evening of dinner parties held all over the county to benefit the hospital’s Auxiliary and its projects. Six of the nine dinners are already sold out, but seats are still available at some of the larger gatherings.

On the business side, Cannington reported that patient-days are currently dropping, which is typical during summer months, and significant increases in hospital stays are not expected until cold and flu season hits later this fall.

Board members continue to receive accolades for their perspicacity in convincing Cannington to abandon his consulting practice and sign on full-time with Morgan Memorial Hospital in June. At a recent Georgia Hospital Association meeting, Burbach said the good wishes just kept flowing.

“Everybody liked [Cannington],� she said. “Everybody knew him, everybody respected him, and then everybody congratulated us on getting him.�