Business

Former state Health Department official John Vowell has been named interim Chief Executive Officer at Juneau’s Bartlett Regional Hospital.

Vowell will serve in the position for up to a year, starting in February, while the Bartlett Board of Directors searches for a permanent CEO.

The board recently approved a new consulting contract with former management company Quorum Health Resources. Under terms of the deal, the board will employ the hospital’s CEO and Chief Financial Officer. Previously those positions had been employed by Quorum.

That means current CEO Shawn Morrow and CFO Garth Hamblin will no longer be employed at Bartlett when the new contract takes effect February 1st.

Vowell retired as Director of Alaska Pioneer Homes in 2004.

The Bartlett board will use an executive search firm to help it hire a permanent CEO, who will be responsible for hiring the CFO.

Bartlett Regional Hospital is owned by the City and Borough of Juneau. The board is appointed by the CBJ Assembly. The hospital gets its operating funds from charges for patient services.

Juneau-based Native Corporation Goldbelt, Inc. has a new president and CEO.

Bob Loiselle will join the company later this month, Goldbelt’s Board of Directors announced today (Tuesday).

Loiselle has 30 years’ experience in Alaska, including 10 years as president and CEO of Sitka’s Shee Atika Native Corporation, from 1999 to 2009. Since leaving Shee Atika he’s been general manager of Orca International Management – a subsidiary of Eyak Corporation, as well as a consultant to various Native corporations and government contractors.

Goldbelt’s previous president and CEO, Gary Droubay, retired last June after more than a dozen years with the company. Elliott “Chuck” Wimberly had been interim chief executive since then.

Loiselle inherits a company that has enjoyed success in the government contracting arena. According to annual reports, Goldbelt recorded positive net income every year from 2003 to 2010, while gross revenue from contracting grew from less than 20-million dollars a year to about 132-million. The company employs about 187 people in Juneau and has contracting operations in nearly every state.

Two new major chain stores will open in Juneau in the New Year.

Office Max has a target date of February; Petco expects a noon opening on Monday, Jan. 2nd. Both stores are located at the Mallard Street end of Nugget Mall.

Petco is expanding in Alaska, under this philosophy:

“We no longer really have pets, we have family members now that just happen to have four legs,” says General Manager Barry Goodson, who says he started at the company about a decade ago when he was looking for a career change.

“They were building a new Petco. There was a hiring-now banner. I went in and sat down and talked to them. Started as a part-time freight guy and worked my way through every job inside the store until I got this job as general manager,” he says.

Goodson was managing a Petco in the Spokane area when he was tapped to manage the new Juneau store. He’s one of two managers the corporation has imported. Goodson hired the other 23 employees from the capital city.

Petco started as a mail-order veterinary supply business 56 years ago. A privately held corporation, it now has more than one-thousand stores in all 50 states, including two in Anchorage and one in Fairbanks. Construction begins next summer on a Petco in Soldotna, according to retail consultant David Irwin. He says the company is also studying Wasilla.

“They look at the pets population and they look at what exists for pet supply stores and they figured it was ripe for Petco,” Irwin says.

Juneau’s dog population is probably about 7,000, according to CBJ Animal Control, though only half of those are licensed, as required by law. No estimate of cats and other pets; they don’t need to be licensed.

Consultant Irwin says the corporation figures this small town of about 31,275 people has plenty of pets and with only one store dedicated to them, Juneau is an underserved market.

But Southeast Alaska is losing population and the capital city’s growth has been miniscule. The government sector keeps Juneau stable, says Dan Robinson, chief of the Research and Analysis section for the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

“It’s not growing much,” he says, “but it may be that it shows up on the matrix as an underserved retail market.”

Juneau’s history with national chain stores has been sketchy. Sort of here today, gone in just a few years. Robinson says one factor is Juneau’s work force. Large stores here are often hiring due to employee turnover.

“That’s kind of a constant in Juneau. We don’t have a big supply of workers who can afford to live here on lower than average wages, which retail jobs tend to be,” Robinson says.

Petco manager Goodson says the company pays a little better than minimum wage and offers benefits to employees who work at least 20 hours a week. He says he’s tried to hire people who will stay with the company.

The new Petco has what Goodson calls 8,200 shopable square feet. The rest of the more than 11,000 square-foot space is storeroom and grooming.

The only animals the store will carry are reptiles, fresh and salt water fish, some birds and small furry mammals. Though it does not sell dogs and cats, it carries all sorts of canine and feline supplies, will offer dog training and has a grooming salon, staffed by local professionals.

Part-time employee Carty Neill was stocking dog shampoos, conditioners and deodorizers the day I visited the store. When it opens, she’ll be using some of the products in her training to become a professional groomer, something she says she’s done for years as an amateur.

“I feel so fortunate to have this opportunity to do something I love and get paid for it too,” Neill says.

Retail expert Irwin has been a consultant for Nugget Mall and Petco. He says PetSmart also was looking at the Juneau market.

“And it’s first guy in wins,” he says.

Irwin says Petco and Office Max will be the last big stores to move to Juneau for a while.

State labor economist Neal Fried says national chains most often move geographically; Alaska is a big stretch.

“It’s a logistical leap,” Fried says. “You know you can’t just drive in a truck and open a new store and supply it.”

The Juneau Petco will have higher shipping costs than its other stores, even those on Alaska’s road system. Irwin predicts Juneau shoppers will see it in price.

“I’m sure that the average price of things will be more expensive in Juneau simply because of shipping,” Irwin says.

Petco is a mega store by comparison to Juneau’s only current pet shop. Wee Fishie is just across the Nugget Mall parking lot.

It’s been in business for two decades and is currently owned by Andrew Nelson and Emiliano Ruiz. While Ruiz declined to talk on tape, he has said he’ll weather whatever storm the competition might bring.

Petco’s Goodson says he expects to be a good neighbor.

“Hope it goes well, because I really believe there’s a niche for both of us here,” he says.

Goodson says the corporation prides itself on being community-oriented and plans to be involved in Juneau. He’s been in town about a month now and will soon be settling into a home with a boxer, a cat and fish.

Bartlett Regional Hospital will be looking for new senior leadership in 2012.

Chief Executive Officer Shawn Morrow and Chief Financial Officer Garth Hamblin will not continue in their positions when a new management contract takes effect February 1st.

Instead the CEO and CFO will be employed by Bartlett’s Board of Directors. Previously, those positions had been employees of Tennessee-based management company Quorum Health Resources.

Hospital board President Bob Storer says the change is meant to provide more local accountability.

“They would in fact be employees of the hospital and report directly to the board,” said Storer. “And subsequent discussions I think have re-affirmed the need to resolve what has been a basic problem in terms of how we were organized in the past.”

Quorum has managed day-to-day operations at Bartlett for more than two decades. Hamblin has been the head financial officer for nearly 25 years, and Morrow was hired as CEO five years ago. They both have non-compete clauses in their Quorum contracts, which prevent them from seeking employment outside the management company. Storer says the board asked Quorum to waive those clauses, but the company declined to do so.

The board plans to conducts a nation-wide search for a permanent CEO, who will then hire the CFO. In the meantime, Storer says the board will look for someone to fill the top job on interim basis. He says a professional recruiting firm will be hired to assist with the search, which he expects to take up to six months.

“I think broadly we’re looking for, of course experience. We’re looking for somebody that really does a great job with communications,” Storer said. “Part of what we realize is that there are a number of constituencies in Juneau – not just the hospital employees and the medical community, but the citizens of Juneau and the assembly as well.”

Bartlett Regional Hospital is owned by the City and Borough of Juneau. The Bartlett Board of Directors is appointed by the CBJ Assembly.

Operating expenses for the hospital come primarily from patient fees.

The uncertainty over leadership at Bartlett Regional Hospital could be resolved tonight (Tuesday) at the regular monthly meeting of the board of directors for the city owned hospital.

The board last week held a special meeting to approve a new three-year management contract with Quorum Health Resources. The Tennessee-based company has managed day-to-day operations at Bartlett for more than two decades.

Under previous contracts the Chief Executive and Chief Financial Officers were employed by Quorum. But under this new deal, the board wanted those positions to be employees of the board.

Incoming board president Bob Storer says the move is primarily meant to provide more accountability.

“It’s not an issue related to the existing staff. It’s an issue related to structure,” says Storer. “They’re technically called ‘borrowed employees’ from Quorum. So, by hiring our own, we know they are accountable to us.”

The uncertainty arises from the fact that current CEO Shawn Morrow and CFO Garth Hamblin have non-compete clauses in their contracts with Quorum. That apparently means both are unable to seek employment outside the company for one year should they decide to break the contract. Storer says the board asked Quorum to waive the clauses, but the company declined.

“So effective February 1st, we need to seek temporary help to assist managing the hospital while we then pursue long-term employees,” Storer says.

Officials with Quorum could not be reached for comment last week.

Storer says the board has several options. That includes filling a long-vacant Chief Operating Officer position to serve as interim manager until the CEO and CFO positions can be filled.

“That is a possibility. Another possibility is we can use Quorum to assist us to bring in temporary personnel to fill the positions. They have a service that they provide at a cost. And another option is to use a head hunting firm that specializes in finding temporary employees,” Storer says.

The board’s management transition committee met last week in executive session to discuss the options. Storer expects the group to have a recommendation for the full board tonight (Tuesday).

At recent meetings, some hospital employees expressed frustration at the board’s protracted negotiations with Quorum. The board decided in August to enter into talks with the company. Storer says he wants the leadership issue resolved as soon as possible.

“It is a difficult period for everybody, because when you get done with the final decision, it affects Shawn, it affects Garth and it has some impact on all of the employees in the hospital as well,” he says.

Whatever the outcome, Storer says he’s confident the management issues won’t affect the quality of patient care at Bartlett.

The hospital board meeting is scheduled for tonight (Tuesday) at 5:15 in the hospital board room.

Juneau’s Bartlett Regional Hospital has a new management contract.

The board of directors for the city-owned facility has approved a new three-year deal with Quorum Health Resources, the hospital announced last night (Monday) in a press release. Quorum has managed the hospital for more than 20 years. The Tennessee-based firm is the largest provider of hospital management services in the country.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Quorum’s last contract paid between 350- and 400-thousand dollars a year, depending on the Consumer Price Index. Funds to operate Bartlett come primarily from charges for patient services.

In June the board of directors put the management contract out to bid for the first time in 14 years. In August, the board decided to stick with Quorum over two other hospital management companies.

Under the new deal, the board will employ the hospital’s chief executive and chief financial officers. Previously they had been employees of Quorum.