By Michael O’Hearn

michael.ohearn@tryondailybulletin.com

 

Ken Shull, CEO and president of St. Luke’s Hospital since 2009, announced his retirement during the hospital’s Board of Trustees Executive Committee meeting.

 

The retirement, which will be effective in July, will allow Shull to spend more time with his wife, Heidi, in Tryon as well as stay involved in the community.

 

Shull is ending a 43-year career in healthcare after having been with St. Luke’s Hospital for nearly seven years with his employment with Carolina HealthCare System on at least a five-year agreement. The president said he will turn 69 within a week of the time he leaves the hospital system in July. He calls St. Luke’s Hospital a “good end-of-career job” and looks forward to retirement.

 

“I’m excited about that,” Shull said. “We’re going to stay in the area and in Tryon. We’ll go see grandkids, some live in Charlotte and some in Alexandria, Va., and we’ll keep playing golf at Tryon Country Club and I’ll be a judge for the barbecue contests. Eventually, I’ll start doing volunteering but it’s time to just relax.”

 

Following Shull’s official exit in July, a new CEO will step in to fill the role. Shull said St. Luke’s Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees will act as the search committee and he will stay with the hospital until the new CEO has been chosen.

 

“The board will bring a consultant with them to help consult, and this is through the Carolina HealthCare System,” Shull explained. “They will decide what the person needs to be like because it’s different from seven years ago because the system has different needs now going forward, and it will either be someone from Carolina HealthCare System or the community, not internally here at the hospital.”

 

Shull also participates in the Rotary Club of Tryon and as a judge at the Blue Ridge Barbecue Festival along with 20 other festivals across the nation. Shull has even been certified as a Kansas City-approved barbecue judge.

 

Hospital Board Chairman Clark Benson said he will miss Shull and the jokes he makes, but also feels fortunate to have worked with the president.

 

“We were sad to hear of Ken’s decision, but we consider ourselves fortunate to have experienced his leadership,” Benson said. “Ken has had a transformative influence on our community hospital. He’s guided us through some difficult times for the healthcare industry and led the change for some very exciting growth for St. Luke’s Hospital. We will all miss Ken’s leadership, his insight and enthusiasm, even his jokes.”

 

Colleagues and the staff at St. Luke’s refer to Shull as the “gentle giant,” a phrase Shull does not dispute given his stature and size. Kathy Woodham is the media director at St. Luke’s Hospital and said Shull is always interacting with the staff and patients during the day.

 

“It’s not unusual to see Ken walking around the hospital visiting patients and asking them how their day is going and asking them if they need anything,” Woodham said. “Each morning, the first thing he does is walk around the hospital to speak to everybody and people appreciate that interest. It’s that personal touch. Even with his office, the only times his door is closed is if he is on the phone or if he isn’t in there.”

 

Shull said the influence of the small, rural area of Polk County and the close-knit atmosphere of St. Luke’s initially drew him to the hospital.

 

“I like small, rural areas and I like small hospitals,” Shull explained. “Most of my career, not my entire career, has been at small hospitals. I like the fact that they are personal. You have to a professional commitment but you also have to have a professional and personal commitment.”

 

One of his proudest achievements is being lucky enough to work in some places that were ready to do things, like St. Luke’s, which has improved its operating margin recently. St. Luke’s is a not-for-profit community hospital and is the county’s largest employer today.

 

“One of my personal goals, and everyone has to have personal goals, has been to leave some place better than where I found it,” Shull said. “Working with people, because it’s a very personal thing, has been great because I am a people person. We also have the orthopedic addition here that is two years old that was the first step in modernizing this building.”

 

The orthopedic wing was the first major expansion project done by St. Luke’s since 1972.

 

The hospital’s patients are, according to Shull, his first priority in the organizational chart he created for the system and his view on the work ethics of the hospital.

 

“On the top are the patients, then it goes to the direct caregivers who touch the patients everyday, then the people who provide support and managers, and the CEO is at the bottom,” Shull said. “That’s what we do as a hospital. That’s where the action is and so the patients are at the top. It’s fun to be part of it and, in my letter of resignation, I have surprisingly no mixed feelings because I feel good about it and where the hospital is.”