ROCHESTER — Frisbie Memorial Hospital announced Monday morning that President and CEO John Marzinzik is retiring, effective Monday.
Marzinzik, whose career at Frisbie spans 24 years in leadership positions, has served as CEO since December 2014. Frisbie Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jocelyn Caple has been named interim president and CEO, according to a hospital press release.
“We are thankful to John and his family for their longtime commitment to Frisbie and the Rochester community,” Brian Hughes, the chair of Frisbie’s board of trustees, wrote in the release. “His work as President and CEO has helped initiate a significant community response to the opioid epidemic and the mental health issues facing Rochester and surrounding towns. This includes the opening of the Rochester Community Recovery Center, which John oversaw.”
Marzinzik wasn’t quoted in the release, nor was he quoted in an internal announcement the board sent to Frisbie’s employees Monday morning. It was unclear whether Marzinzik was working Monday. A call to his office line hadn’t been returned as of Monday afternoon.
The change in hospital leadership comes after a year in which Frisbie made several financial headlines.
The affiliated Skyhaven Surgery Center closed Dec. 22. The hospital made a round of layoffs and delayed the mailing of more than 10,000 patient bills following the implementation of a new medical records system. Some of the hospital’s employees have come forward publicly to voice displeasure and distrust with administrators for how they handled the implementation of that system and the layoffs, as well as concerns about the nonprofit hospital’s financials.
In 2017, Massachusetts General Hospital also acquired Dover’s Wentworth-Douglass Hospital. There are overlaps in service area between Frisbie and WDH.
It was unclear Monday whether Marzinzik retired willingly or if trustees asked him to step down in connection with any of Frisbie’s recent challenges.
Hughes was reportedly the only individual authorized to answer questions about Frisbie or Marzinzik on Monday. After requests were made for a phone interview with Hughes, Hughes forwarded an email containing the internal announcement he and the board sent to hospital staff. After Seacoast Media Group emailed questions about Marzinzik’s retirement and Frisbie’s financials, doing so with again with a request for a phone interview, Hughes responded by email that "much of the information" requested is confidential.
The internal announcement, signed by Hughes, states one of the “characteristics of a successful organization is continuous improvement” and that “flexibility and vision” are critical as the medical industry “faces both formidable challenges and dynamic opportunities.” The announcement goes on to state that the board is “redoubling” its focus on Frisbie’s “operations and financial health.”
“To that end, we have engaged Prism Healthcare Partners, a nationally renowned management consultancy specializing in performance improvement for health systems,” Hughes wrote. “Prism team members will be on site to conduct a comprehensive assessment of our hospital operations and support services, and will develop recommendations that support our goals, as we continue to identify opportunities that benefit our patients.”
During one of Marzinzik’s last public appearances as Frisbie’s president — the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce’s annual breakfast meeting inside Frisbie’s conference center on Jan. 31 — Marzinzik spoke publicly about some of Frisbie’s recent challenges.
Marzinzik called the new medical records system a “rip and replace” that was “very, very challenging for the hospital to go through,” and said it was one of the “trials and tribulations” that contributed to a “challenging year” for Frisbie in 2017.
“It was a hard year for us, but the benefit for the community will be outstanding,” he said.
The past year has had bright moments for Frisbie, though. The hospital recently partnered with Community Partners to open Rochester Community Counseling, a new mental health center.
In addition, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services awarded Frisbie in early January a five-star rating based on performance on various levels across the hospital. Only 10 percent of hospitals nationwide have a five-star rating, and only Frisbie, Catholic Medical Center in Manchester and Saint Joseph Hospital in Nashua received the distinction this year.
Frisbie is currently not engaged in a search process to find Marzinzik’s permanent replacement and is instead focusing now “on a continuation of leadership” with Caple, according to Hughes.
The new interim president and CEO has been a part of the Frisbie community for more than 20 years, including as chair of pathology since 2006, before becoming chief medical officer in 2016. She graduated from University of Massachusetts Medical School in 1992 and completed her residency at Cleveland Clinic in Ohio in 1996, where she specialized in anatomic and clinical pathology. She also holds an MBA from the University of New Hampshire.
“I am confident that, under Dr. Caple’s leadership, and with the talented team at Frisbie, our dedicated board, and Prism’s expertise in hospital operations and finance, we are well positioned to ensure continued innovation and exceptional care for the patients and families we serve in our community,” Hughes wrote in the hospital’s press release.
In the hospital’s release, Caple said she is “deeply honored to be entrusted with the responsibility of leading Frisbie as interim president and CEO.”
“I’m excited to be helping to write the next chapter of Frisbie’s history with the dedicated team here,” she said in the release.