Blue Hill hospital CEO resigns to take position in New York

BLUE HILL – Bruce Cummings has resigned as chief executive officer at Blue Hill Memorial Hospital in order to accept a similar position at a hospital in western New York.

Cummings, who has been the CEO at Blue Hill since 1990, will begin his new job as chief executive officer at Olean General Hospital in April.

“We are very sorry to see Bruce leave,” said Dr. Gardner Smith, chairman of the hospital’s board of trustees. “His vision, intelligence, thoughtful nature, innovative spirit and compassion for others will be sorely missed.”

Among Cummings’ accomplishments during his 11-year tenure have been the establishment of the hospital’s integrated primary care system with clinics in Blue Hill, Bucksport, Castine and the Deer Isle-Stonington area, Smith said. Cummings also oversaw the successful completion of a recent capital campaign and construction project and helped to obtain designation for the hospital as one of the nation’s first “critical access” hospitals, Smith said.

Within the next few days, the hospital board will determine the composition and status of a search committee for Cummings’ successor and also will consider naming an interim CEO, according to Smith.

That committee is expected to begin work in January.

Olean General Hospital is a 103-year-old, 186-bed community medical center located in Olean, N.Y. The hospital has a primary service area of 60,000 people in western New York and northwestern Pennsylvania. The hospital recently completed a $30 million expansion and renovation and has more than 100 active physicians on staff, representing many specialties and offering a wide range of inpatient and outpatient services.