A temporary replacement has been appointed for the top executive job at Nash UNC Health Care.

Dr. Ian B. Buchanan will serve as interim CEO for the hospital, stepping in for Larry Chewning, who was asked to leave by the hospitals Board of Commissioners in July and allowed to announce his retirement.

Our team is looking forward to working with Dr. Buchanan and our partners at UNC Health Care to continue improving the care and service we provide to the people of Nash County and the region, said hospital board Chairman Jim Lilley.

A national search is underway to find a replacement for Chewning, who will officially begin his retirement in September. He has served as CEO for the past decade. Chewning became an employee of UNC Health Care System after spearheading the partnership with UNC Health Care in 2014.

As part of the agreement, UNC provides Nash with a CEO, Alan Wolf, spokesman for UNC Health Care Systems, previously told the Telegram.

Chewning presided over a period of great expansion at the hospital with several new treatment centers built. In recent months, however, the hospital has lost money and received poor patient safety ratings.

The search process is being led by a CEO Search Committee composed of members of the local hospital board, said Jeff Hedgepeth, the hospital's director of public relations and marketing.

Buchanan will continue to serve as chief research officer for the UNC Health Care System and as senior vice president of operations at UNC Medical Center in Chapel Hill. He also serves the state as a member of the N.C. Advisory Committee on Cancer Coordination and Control.

Buchanan has worked with the Nash hospital leadership team in recent years on several initiatives related to UNC Cancer Care at Nash.

In addition to the Cancer Care programs, I am excited to begin working more closely with the larger team at Nash and in getting to know both our patients and the community, Buchanan said.

Buchanan is a graduate of the UNC School of Medicine and earned a masters degree from the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. He joined UNC Health Care in 2006, working in the Performance Improvement Department at UNC Medical Center, where he was responsible for the Core Measures reporting initiative.

Since then, Buchanan has served as the associate vice president for Oncology Services, as vice president for Cancer and Childrens Services, and as vice chairman for Clinical Integration within the UNC Department of Pediatrics.

Chewning is only the third CEO of the hospital since it opened nearly 50 years ago. He replaced Rick Toomey, who replaced long-time CEO Bryant Aldridge.

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