VCU Health Community Memorial Hospital in South Hill is pleased to announce the newest members of the CMH Board of Directors. Governed by 10 citizens of its service area and four representatives of VCU Health, the 14-member board of directors is comprised of both medical and non-medical individuals representing a wide array of businesses and professions. These dedicated volunteers along with VCU Health and CMH Administration share a fundamental belief that local communities are in the best position to identify and meet local health care needs.

 

The CMH Board of Directors represent our service areas of Brunswick, Lunenburg, and Mecklenburg counties.  In general, each member serves three consecutive three-year terms; however, there is a provision for them to serve longer when necessary.  The Board sets policy, oversees the financial well-being of the hospital and is responsible for long-range planning.  In addition and most importantly, the Board is responsible for oversight of the quality, safety and service levels that patients receive at CMH and for approving the appointment of physicians and other licensed providers as members of the Medical Staff.

 

New members joining the Board during the June meeting were:  Mr. Clint Clary representing Brunswick County, Ms. Kendele Underwood representing Mecklenburg County and Mr. Jay Stafford representing Lunenburg County. Also replacing two board members from VCU Health are Mr. Shane Cerone and Dr. David Chelmow.

 

As of July 1^st, Dr. Desiderio Rimon will attend Board meetings as the Chief of Staff representing the CMH Medical Staff and Mr. Kenny Pitts as the Auxiliary President representing the CMH Auxiliary.

 

The officers of the CMH Board of Directors for this year are:  Chairman, Mr. John C. Lee, Jr. representing Mecklenburg, Vice-Chairman, Mr. William E. “Billy” Wells, Jr. representing Mecklenburg, Treasurer, Ms. Cindy H. Pecht representing Brunswick, and Secretary, Mr. Paul Neimeyer with VCU Health.

 

“I am honored to have been elected by my fellow directors to serve as the VCU Health Community Memorial Hospital board chairman and I look forward to working with the board and staff to continue the great work currently being done there. Since the affiliation with VCU Health, and our subsequent move into the new hospital, we have seen consistent improvement in the numbers and statistics we associate with the hospital’s success and, more importantly, in the feedback we receive from those who are treated there,” said Chairman Lee.

 

Other Board Members include; representing Mecklenburg County are Dr. David Brown and Mr. William “Billy” Wilkinson; representing Brunswick County is Mr. G. Nelson Baird; representing Lunenburg County is Mr. Cecil Shell; and representing VCU Health are Ms. Melinda Hancock and Dr. Tom Yackel.  Legal Counsel is provided by Mr. Paul Neimeyer with VCU Health.

 

The CMH Board of Directors volunteer their time and expertise to assure that our community, nonprofit hospital remains on a strong course for the future.  These Directors generously give of themselves, their time, experience and skills and in turn to their community to ensure that VCU Health CMH continues to enhance the health and well-being of the citizens of Southside Virginia and Northern North Carolina.

 

Lee also stated, “I’m very honored to be associated with the hospital, privileged to serve alongside a very capable and dedicated board of directors and hospital staff, and proud to have chaired the affiliation committee whose efforts resulted in the relationship with VCU Health, and the new hospital and health care facility. Our community deserves high quality health care delivered, with desirable options, at a contemporary, state of the art facility and VCU Health CMH is moving progressively, and aggressively, toward that end. And while we are pleased with the current state of affairs there, rest assured, the capable and professional people who work in that beautiful new facility every day, along with the CEO and board of directors, are committed to being the best. We’ll not rest on past laurels and will diligently continue to seek out opportunities for improvement, make every effort to meet the changing health care needs of the region, and be a corporate citizen that takes a back seat to no one.”  

 

 

Mr. John Lee, Jr., President and CEO of Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative and EMPOWER Broadband, Inc., began his career there on January 1, 2008.  He is a graduate of Mississippi State University with a BS degree in Business.  He has more than 28 years of experience in the electric utility industry.  Lee began his cooperative career as Old Dominion Electric Cooperative’s (ODEC) Community Relations Specialist for the Clover Power Station in 1992.  While at ODEC, he had the opportunity to serve as Director of Economic Development, Manager of Administration, and lastly, Vice President of Member and External Relations.

 

Mr. Clint Clary of Brunswick County has been a law partner with Slayton & Clary in Lawrenceville since 1987.  He graduated from Brunswick Academy in 1975, from Hampden-Sydney College in 1979, and from The T. C. Williams School of Law in 1983. 

 

Mr. Jay Stafford of Lunenburg County is the President and CEO of Benchmark Community Bank.  Mr. Stafford has been with Benchmark for more than 31 years.  He is a past president of the Lunenburg Chamber of Commerce and has been on the Lunenburg Health Service Inc. Board of Directors for almost 30 years.

 

Ms. Kendele Underwood of Mecklenburg County is the Director of Corporate Operations for Veterans Enterprise Technology Solutions, Inc. (VETS). Ms. Underwood holds an Associate degree in Information Systems Technology and HR Generalist certification. She is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and a Notary Public for the Commonwealth of Virginia.

 

Mr. Shane Cerone is the Interim Chief Executive Officer for VCU Hospitals and Clinics, VCU Health System. Mr. Cerone is founder and CEO of Health Market Solutions, a health care consulting firm that provides interim CEO services and assists health systems in developing solutions to improve care quality and efficiency. Cerone’s recent projects include serving as interim president of SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital and Mercy Iowa City. Before that, he served as chief operating officer and then president of Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, Mich. He also oversaw hospital operations at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.

 

Dr. David Chelmow is Professor and Chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Virginia Commonwealth University. He received his MD at Yale and completed residency at UCSF. He is a Director for the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology.  He is President of the Council of University Chairs in Obstetrics and Gynecology (CUCOG), Treasurer of the American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology, and a past President of the Society for Academic Specialists in General OB/GYN (SASGOG).

 

Dr. Desiderio Rimon is a general surgeon at VCU Health CMH and the chief of staff for the CMH Medical Staff.  He specializes in General Surgery with expertise in abdominal surgery, diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopies, and advanced laparoscopy. Dr. Rimon received his Medical Degree from the University of Maryland Medical School in Baltimore, Maryland.

 

Mr. Kenny Pitts of South Hill is the CMH Auxiliary President.  He has been a volunteer at VCU Health CMH for more than four years.  Mr. Pitts retired from the United States Postal Service after more than 36 years; Postmaster of the South Hill Post Office for 27 years.