Beeman on his way out at Saint Thomas Health Services
Tom Beeman, president and chief executive officer of Saint Thomas Health Services, soon will cease leading the five-hospital system, NashvillePost.com has learned from multiple industry sources.
Calls to spokespeople at St. Louis-based Ascension Health, parent of Saint Thomas Health Services, were not immediately returned, and the company’s phone system said the offices are closed today due to the holiday. Rebecca Climer, spokesperson for Saint Thomas Health Services, said Beeman was not in the office for her to speak with him and recommended calling back tomorrow.
Beeman recently also took over as president and CEO of Saint Thomas Hospital after Dr. Deb German left. The system’s flagship hospital recently laid off about 50 employees, and Baptist Hospital, also part of the system, reportedly cut 28 employees last week. In November, NashvillePost.com reported that Baptist has been losing more than $1 million a month, and the hospital blamed declining patient volume and the growing uninsured population.
Beeman had served as president of Saint Thomas Hospital before Saint Thomas Health Services was created through the 2001 acquisition of Baptist Health System.
On Nov. 16, 2004, Saint Thomas announced that German had stepped down as the head of the hospital and that Beeman had assumed that role. With a background as a physician and an academic leader, German was tapped in October 2002 to lead the hospital and serve as chief academic officer for Saint Thomas Health Services after previously working at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. According to a November press release from Saint Thomas, German would continue to focus on her system-level chief academic officer role. However sources close to that situation have said that Beeman forced her out at the hospital. Calls to German were not immediately returned.
Separately, the Memphis Business Journal has reported that German is one of four finalists for the job of vice president for health affairs and chancellor at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis.
