Lexington Regional Health Center, (Brian Neben, Central Nebraska Today)
LEXINGTON — Two incumbents and one newcomer took the top votes in the race for seats on the Lexington Regional Health Center board of directors on Tuesday, May 14.
Founded in 1976 as the Tri-County Hospital, the Lexington Regional Health Center (LRHC) is now a political subdivision with voting stakes in Dawson and Gosper counties. The facility is a 25-bed critical access hospital.
In February 2024, the LHRC board voted 3-2 to terminate the Chief Executive Officer Leslie Marsh.
The move to terminate Marsh’s employment came after an Aug. 3, 2023, meeting in which the LRHC board held a job evaluation for the CEO for the first time since 2018.
Marsh joined Tri County Hospital in 1998, serving as chief nursing officer until becoming CEO of the rebranded Lexington Regional Health Center in 2010.
During the August meeting, board members Pat Samway and Pam Trampe were in support of Marsh, giving her high marks.
Chairman Rob Anderson, Vice Chair Tucker Case and Secretary/Treasurer Kenneth Harbison praised certain aspects of Marsh’s performance, such as the new emergency room and her advocacy for the hospital.
However, all three men listed concerns that included IT issues that had continued to plague LRHC, including a multi-day system crash in November 2022, a lack of communication, a $200,000 expenditure for a network switch that was not included in the capital budget and the alleged failure to disclose a six-figure settlement until after the fact.
There was a lengthy public comment period where the majority, including many employees, spoke out in support of Marsh. A few expressed mixed feelings or noted issues with her leadership in the past.
Several supporters of Marsh noted the May 14 primary election where Anderson and Case would be up for re-election and hinted, they might not retain their seats if they terminated Marsh.
The meeting had ended when Marsh’s attorney, former Lincoln County judge Kent Turnbull asked one of the board members to vote no on termination and he would work on his own time and dollar to help bridge the gap.
A motion was made for Case to coordinate with Turnbull on a mediation process, with a new evaluation of issues on the same format and reevaluation in six months.
With the six-month period having passed, the board once again took up the issue of Marsh’s employment.
Anderson, Case and Harbison voted to terminate Marsh, while Samway and Trampe voted no. When asked for the reason for his vote, Anderson said he was not able to comment on personnel issues.
During the primary, incumbents Anderson, Case and Trampe entered the race along with four newcomers, Jackie Rowan, Tami Reynolds, Bob Sankey and Kasi Fagot.
Anderson has served on the LHRC board since 2011, Case was elected in 2017 and Trampe was elected in 2020.
Campaign materials circulating online prior to the election stated, “Continuing the legacy of LRHC with new board members with new ideas,” with ‘new’ being emphasized.
Rowan, Fagot and Sankey were all quoted on the back of the flyer.
The election could effectively be seen as a referendum on the board’s recent actions, including terminating CEO Marsh.
When the poles closed on Tuesday evening, the voters of the hospital district had backed two incumbents who retained their seats and one newcomer.
Anderson took the most votes at 924, Case was second with 782 and Reynolds earned 708.
Rowan earned 611, incumbent Trampe received 608, Fagot received 441 and Sankey, 297.
Anderson, Case, Reynolds, Rowan, Trampe and Fagot will advance to the general election in November.