McClymonds to retire from WVU Hospitals
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Bruce McClymonds, president and chief executive officer of WVU Hospitals (WVUH), announced to the hospital Board of Directors, management and staff Friday that he will retire in May 2014.
McClymonds joined the hospital organization as chief financial officer in 1989, shortly after the opening of Ruby Memorial Hospital on West Virginia University’s Health Sciences campus in Morgantown. He served as chief operating officer in 1995-96 and was appointed to the top leadership post by the hospital board in 1997.
“Bruce has been a strong leader for WVU Hospitals, as Ruby Memorial and the West Virginia United Health System have grown to provide West Virginians with access to high quality healthcare, regardless of income,” WVU President Jim Clements, who is also president of the WVUH Board of Directors, said. “Bruce has also been a strong partner with the WVU Health Sciences Center in preparing the best physicians and healthcare professionals we possibly can.”
Under McClymonds’ leadership, WVU Hospitals has expanded both the range of services offered to patients and the number of people it serves. In the early 1990s, Ruby Memorial Hospital treated about 200 inpatients each day; today, the average daily patient census is usually well over 400. It offers a wide range of health services, including many not available elsewhere in the state of West Virginia.
In recent years, the hospital has achieved national recognition for the quality of healthcare provided there, including a best-in-state rating from U.S. News & World Report and high marks for stroke and heart care. As one of the largest employers in the region, it also appears regularly on national “Best Employer” lists.
WVU Hospitals is the teaching hospital for all the health professions schools at WVU. In addition, students in nursing and other health programs at a long list of regional colleges and schools regularly come to Ruby for advanced clinical training.
WVU Chancellor for Health Sciences Christopher C. Colenda, M.D., M.P.H., said he feels privileged to have worked with McClymonds. “Since 1989, Bruce’s remarkable career has been committed to WVU Hospitals and its flagship, Ruby Memorial Hospital. He recruited and led a wonderful team of health professionals and administrators, and together they transformed it into one of this nation’s premier academic medical centers.”
Colenda added, “For those of us who know Bruce, he is much more than what can be summarized from his impressive resume. He is a person of deep conviction, and he is guided by the principle of ‘doing what is right.’ While I know he’ll be here until May, I wish him and (his wife) Andy tremendous joy as they transition into the next phase of their lives together.”
McClymonds helped lead the group that organized WVU’s Morgantown-based faculty medical practice and teaching hospitals into a single management structure, known as WVU Healthcare. He also added two Eastern Panhandle hospitals, Berkeley Medical Center and Jefferson Medical Center, into the WVU Hospitals organization. These hospitals are teaching sites for WVU’s Eastern Division health programs.
WVU Hospitals is a member of the West Virginia United Health System, which also includes hospitals in Bridgeport and Parkersburg. WVUHS CEO Tom Jones said, “Bruce McClymonds is one of the best hospital CEOs that I have ever had the honor to work with. His leadership and contributions over 25 years are a primary reason for the tremendous growth and success of WVU Hospitals. He will truly be missed, and everyone wishes him well.”
In his message to hospital employees, McClymonds said, “The hospital and WVU Healthcare have been an important part of my life for a long time, and I and the organizations have been blessed with an exceptional team of healthcare professionals. Both WVU Hospitals and WVU Healthcare have strong and effective leadership in place and will continue to be very successful in the future.”
McClymonds said he is staying until May to ensure a smooth transition. A search for his successor will begin soon.
McClymonds joined the hospital organization as chief financial officer in 1989, shortly after the opening of Ruby Memorial Hospital on West Virginia University’s Health Sciences campus in Morgantown. He served as chief operating officer in 1995-96 and was appointed to the top leadership post by the hospital board in 1997.
“Bruce has been a strong leader for WVU Hospitals, as Ruby Memorial and the West Virginia United Health System have grown to provide West Virginians with access to high quality healthcare, regardless of income,” WVU President Jim Clements, who is also president of the WVUH Board of Directors, said. “Bruce has also been a strong partner with the WVU Health Sciences Center in preparing the best physicians and healthcare professionals we possibly can.”
Under McClymonds’ leadership, WVU Hospitals has expanded both the range of services offered to patients and the number of people it serves. In the early 1990s, Ruby Memorial Hospital treated about 200 inpatients each day; today, the average daily patient census is usually well over 400. It offers a wide range of health services, including many not available elsewhere in the state of West Virginia.
In recent years, the hospital has achieved national recognition for the quality of healthcare provided there, including a best-in-state rating from U.S. News & World Report and high marks for stroke and heart care. As one of the largest employers in the region, it also appears regularly on national “Best Employer” lists.
WVU Hospitals is the teaching hospital for all the health professions schools at WVU. In addition, students in nursing and other health programs at a long list of regional colleges and schools regularly come to Ruby for advanced clinical training.
WVU Chancellor for Health Sciences Christopher C. Colenda, M.D., M.P.H., said he feels privileged to have worked with McClymonds. “Since 1989, Bruce’s remarkable career has been committed to WVU Hospitals and its flagship, Ruby Memorial Hospital. He recruited and led a wonderful team of health professionals and administrators, and together they transformed it into one of this nation’s premier academic medical centers.”
Colenda added, “For those of us who know Bruce, he is much more than what can be summarized from his impressive resume. He is a person of deep conviction, and he is guided by the principle of ‘doing what is right.’ While I know he’ll be here until May, I wish him and (his wife) Andy tremendous joy as they transition into the next phase of their lives together.”
McClymonds helped lead the group that organized WVU’s Morgantown-based faculty medical practice and teaching hospitals into a single management structure, known as WVU Healthcare. He also added two Eastern Panhandle hospitals, Berkeley Medical Center and Jefferson Medical Center, into the WVU Hospitals organization. These hospitals are teaching sites for WVU’s Eastern Division health programs.
WVU Hospitals is a member of the West Virginia United Health System, which also includes hospitals in Bridgeport and Parkersburg. WVUHS CEO Tom Jones said, “Bruce McClymonds is one of the best hospital CEOs that I have ever had the honor to work with. His leadership and contributions over 25 years are a primary reason for the tremendous growth and success of WVU Hospitals. He will truly be missed, and everyone wishes him well.”
In his message to hospital employees, McClymonds said, “The hospital and WVU Healthcare have been an important part of my life for a long time, and I and the organizations have been blessed with an exceptional team of healthcare professionals. Both WVU Hospitals and WVU Healthcare have strong and effective leadership in place and will continue to be very successful in the future.”
McClymonds said he is staying until May to ensure a smooth transition. A search for his successor will begin soon.