The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences is losing Dr. Roxane Townsend, the chief executive officer and vice chancellor of clinical programs for its medical center, who is resigning on Sept. 30 to move to North Carolina.
UAMS spokeswoman Leslie Taylor said UAMS Chancellor Dan Rahn plans a national search for her replacement. Rahn is forming a search committee in the next few days from members of his executive team.
Taylor said UAMS has hired Witt/Kieffer of Oakbrook, Illinois, to assist in the search. Taylor didn’t know how much UAMS would pay the executive search firm, which specializes in health care, life sciences, higher education and nonprofits.
Rahn announced Townsend's departure in a memo to staff on Thursday. He said Townsend’s "decision is an entirely personal one for her and she plans to move to North Carolina where she can be closer to her family."
Taylor said Townsend had been "very good in giving plenty of notice" and that UAMS hopes to find her replacement before she leaves the post.
Rahn said Townsend had been a remarkable leader and done an outstanding job since joining UAMS in 2013.
For the fiscal year that ended June 30, the center reported net patient revenue of $649 million and net income of $9.93 million. That was up from net patient revenue of $648 million and a net loss of $1.55 million in the previous fiscal year.
Townsend's salary is $575,000, up from $500,000 in the previous year, Taylor said.
Rahn wrote that Townsend "led the transformation of patient care at UAMS to our innovative service line model with the formation of the Integrated Clinical Enterprise."
He wrote that, under Townsend’s leadership, the center expanded its clinical programs, added neighborhood clinics in central Arkansas and formed alliances with other providers across the state.
Townsend has also been "instrumental" in the creation of the Partnership for a Healthy Arkansas, the shared services organization that includes UAMS, Baptist Health, Blue Cross & Blue Shield, Washington Regional Medical System and St. Bernard’s Healthcare, Rahn wrote.
