Friday Kudos: Hospital, Insurance, & Banking Moves Make For A Busy Week

Gary Blan is named CEO of Sparks Health System in Fort Smith; Regions Insurance Promotes Tom Hayes; and Southern Bancorp’s Tamika Edwards joins a Federal Reserve Bank advisory council.

BLAN NAMED CEO OF SPARKS HEALTH SYSTEM
Gary Blan has been named as the new CEO for Sparks Health System in Fort Smith and Summit Medical Center in Van Buren.

Blan, who retired Jan. 1, 2008, as president and CEO of Saint Clare’s Health System, is expected to begin the new job on March 19.

When he retired from his St. Clare’s post, Blan had 35 years in the medical field, with 27 of those as a CEO of a hospital or health system. Blan has also served as the president and CEO of Mercy Health Center in Oklahoma City, and the president of Mercy Hospital in New Orleans.

He succeeds Melody Trimble who was promoted to president of parent company Health Management Associates’ Southern and Western Group, which includes 26 hospitals in seven states. Trimble’s promotion was effective Jan. 1, 2013. The seven-state region is Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas and Washington.

HAYES PROMOTED AT REGIONS INSURANCE
Tom Hayes has been promoted to Employee Benefits Practice Leader for Regions Insurance. In his new role, Hayes will be responsible for leading the Employee Benefits practice for Regions Insurance, which includes more than 90 employees located in 26 Regions Insurance offices across eight states in the Southeast and Indiana. Since joining Regions Insurance in 2007, he has served as the Employee Benefits manager for the Arkansas agency.

The Employee Benefits division provides advisory services in the areas of health reform impact studies, claims analytics and benefit design. Additionally, the group provides HR advisory services, state and federal compliance, wellness and health management programs, and benchmarking. The Employee Benefits team also works closely with the Property & Casualty division to address property casualty and risk management services, including enterprise risk management, total risk analysis, and complete coverage review. Regions Insurance is an affiliate of Regions Bank.

EDWARDS JOINS FED’S COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COUNCIL
Tamika Edwards, director of public policy for Southern Bancorp Community Partners, has been appointed to a three-year term on the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis’ Community Development Advisory Council.

Southern Bancorp Community Partners, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and certified community development financial institution, works in partnership with Southern Bancorp, Inc.

According to a press release, the council is made up of “thought leaders, practitioners, and researchers from nonprofit organizations, financial institutions, universities, government and foundations” who work in the field of community and economic development.

“I believe this group will be very valuable in providing insights into the challenges and opportunities facing the community development field in the Eighth Federal Reserve District,” said James Bullard, president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

The district includes SBCP’s targeted areas of Arkansas and northern Mississippi.