AKRON, Ohio — Alan Bleyer, the leader of Akron General Health System for the last seven years, is leaving at the end of this month.
The health system will likely be in need of its own version of a wartime consigliere to fight off economic challenges and mounting competition for its patients. Cleveland Clinic last month acquired Medina General Hospital — the latest in a series of attempts by both the Clinic and University Hospitals Health System to push further south from its base in the immediate Cleveland suburbs.
Bleyer has started what the health system called “a top-to-bottom review of programs, expenses, and new revenue opportunities” to streamline Akron General. In March it laid off 145 employees and had already trimmed 218 unfilled positions.
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Bleyer stated in a press release that he was proudest during his tenure of the neonatal affiliation with Akron Children’s Hospital, as well as the development of heart and vascular, cancer and health and wellness centers, among other things.
There was no specific reason for his departure, Akron General spokesman Jim Gosky said. Discussions had been underway for the past year and Bleyer wanted to spend time with his family, Gosky said.
A search for a new, permanent leader should take nine months to a year, Gosky said. In the meantime, Michael Rindler, senior advisor to the Akron General system, will take over Bleyer’s responsibilities. The new Office of the President, including executives Dr. Jack Mitstifer and Dr. Paul Lecat, will help lead the health system.
“It’s going to be an competitive search — to come into a town with great competition and take over a quality organization that is in itself very strong and in which patients prefer Akron General over other [medical centers],” Gosky said.
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“We will miss Alan, but we are grateful he leaves the system positioned for future success,” Akron General’s Board Chairman Richard C. Fedorovich stated in a release.
