Altru Health System has selected a new chief financial officer, filling a key executive role that was filled on an interim basis since a February leadership shakeup.
Doug Arvin, a financial executive at the Georgia-based Wellstar Health System, will fill the CFO role beginning Nov. 30 — the Monday after Thanksgiving. Arvin will fill a crucial role for Altru Health System as it seeks new financial footing, both after its nine-figure hospital project was put on hold earlier this year and as the coronavirus pandemic has scrambled the normal financial order of health care institutions.
“As we continue to focus on financial performance and the steady growth of our operations, I am confident that Doug has the experience, leadership skills and record of success that will help us achieve our ambitious goals for Altru,” said Dave Molmen, interim CEO of Altru Health System. “We’re excited to welcome Doug to the team and value the knowledge and expertise he will provide as we continue to ensure a strong financial future for our health system.”
According to Arvin’s LinkedIn page, he’s been a finance executive at Wellstar since 2016, working prior to that with the University of Cincinnati's health system. He’s been an adjunct professor at Xavier University, and holds degrees from the University of Evansville and the University of Houston at Clear Lake.
“I’m proud to be joining an organization with such a deep legacy of providing high-quality, compassionate care to its communities,” Arvin said in a prepared statement released by Altru. “I look forward to working with the team to continue to position Altru for long-term success.”
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Arvin’s arrival comes at a pivotal moment for Altru, as it aims to exit the pandemic on a healthy financial trajectory. In the early months of COVID’s spread, Altru’s finances were bogged down by a sudden end to medical procedures that didn’t have immediate, pressing need — and just like health systems around the country, the sudden loss of that revenue dragged down its bottom line.
For Altru, though, the pandemic arrived at a particularly vulnerable time, as its efforts to build a new hospital had already worn its finances thin. That project was delayed in April.
The new hire helps quell uncertainty over the future of Altru’s leadership. The CFO position first opened after the dismissal of CFO Sara Lusignan in February alongside former CEO Brad Wehe. Molmen was appointed to fill the CEO position this summer on an interim basis, with Altru’s board of directors starting a search for a permanent replacement in January.
Craig Faerber has been serving as Altru's interim CFO since February.
