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Oswego Health prepares for another CEO change

Oswego Health
The Oswego Health Hospital will come under new management in 2017 as the company's board of directors begin a search for the next CEO.

Oswego Health is beginning the search for a new CEO, marking the second time in two years that the healthcare company has gone through a change in leadership.

Oswego Health encompasses about 1,250 employees in its hospital, nursing home, independent retirement community and other services in Oswego County. Chuck Gijanto has served as the organization's president and CEO since September 2015. Oswego Health Board of Directors President Adam Gagas says he was initially brought in to help with the company's first leadership change.

"We had a transition in management at the time and we needed someone like Chuck to give us a bridge, steady management philosophy and calm hand on the wheel and also to help us transition into permanent leadership," Gagas said. 

Credit Oswego Health
Oswego Health President and CEO Chuck Gijanto, who has led the company since September 2015, has opted not to renew his contract.

Gagas says Gijanto helped Oswego Health get onto solid financial footing and increased morale among staff. it was enough to earn him a permanent offer from the board to continue on as CEO, but Gijanto has turned that down.

The board has enlisted the assistance of a professional search firm to help them find a replacement. Gijanto says the next Oswego Health CEO will have a challenging task ahead because Oswego is in a unique position at a time when the healthcare industry is dramatically changing.  

"Oswego County has got -- when you line up the other counties in New York -- among the lowest healthy behaviors, high incidences of smoking in this county, very high incidences of obesity and chemical abuse and things of that nature," Gijanto said. "So our mission is beginning to shift  - as is the mission of most healthcare organizations in the country - from just fixing people when they come in to trying figure out in advance how can we figure out how to prevent people from coming in? That’s a real 180 degree mind shift for healthcare."

Gagas says the board is aiming to name a new CEO for Oswego Health by summer. 

Payne Horning is a reporter and producer, primarily focusing on the city of Oswego and Oswego County. He has a passion for covering local politics and how it impacts the lives of everyday citizens. Originally from Iowa, Horning moved to Muncie, Indiana to study journalism, telecommunications and political science at Ball State University. While there, he worked as a reporter and substitute host at Indiana Public Radio. He also covered the 2015 session of the Indiana General Assembly for the statewide Indiana Public Broadcasting network.