By Sal Christ
Lovelace Health System's chief financial officer, Stephen Forney, has stepped down from his role with the organization after almost six years.
According to Katherine Cox, communications manager for LHS, Forney's departure was not the result of discord with the organization.
"It was a personal decision for Stephen Forney to leave Lovelace Health System and Albuquerque. He was instrumental to the growth and success of Lovelace and has helped to better position the organization for the future," Cox said. "A national search is underway for his position."
Forney has taken a position as CFO of Verity Health System in Redwood Shores, California. The Verity organization is comprised of six hospitals that were recently sold by Daughters of Charity Health System to BlueMountain Capital Management LLC.
Forney joined the organization in January 2010 after having served as vice president of margin development with Lovelace's parent company, Ardent Health Services from 2007 to 2010. He was not immediately available for comment Thursday.
The news comes at the end of a whirlwind year for the LHS. Over the last several months, the organization has earned several accolades including landing on Modern Healthcare's top 10 best places to work in the U.S., the debut of a number of cutting edge medical technologies at its various hospitals and the recent announcement of the expansion of its operations on Albuquerque's Westside.
Lovelace Medical Center and the Heart Hospital of New Mexico were ranked No. 3 on Business First's top hospitals list in November.