Charles Nabors, who served as CEO of Bryan Whitfield Memorial Hospital for 18 years, resigned his position Wednesday night, bringing a close to a tenure that saw building expansions and financial dilemmas.

The board of directors for the Demopolis hospital requested that Nabors step down on Wednesday, Aug. 20, and one week later, Nabors tendered his resignation to the board. Upon leaving the hospital after an executive session of the board, Nabors made no comment. He could not be reached later in the week, either.

Though Arthur Evans stepped in to run the daily aspects of the hospital after Nabors’ resignation, the board of directors has already hired a new CEO.

Mike Marshall, who presently lives in Atlanta, has been named the interim CEO. Whether the interim label will be shed after Marshall’s arrival is unclear, though one source requesting anonymity did say Marshall will serve on a permanent basis.

Working with under-performing hospitals in rural areas is not a new experience for Marshall, who graduated from the University of Alabama in 1985. He has worked as an administrator in Chatom, Lucedale, Miss., Mobile and Dothan. Most recently, Marshall served as director of development for the Midwest region of Healthsouth.

Marshall’s transition to Demopolis will not be a blind one.

That friendship has given Marshall a taste of life in Demopolis. At the same time, it doesn’t necessarily mean Marshall knows the intricacies of Bryan Whitfield Memorial Hospital just yet.

The problems associated with the Demopolis hospital have been well documented. Most of those problems, at least from prior CEO reports, have been geared toward a lack of Medicare reimbursements and indigent care. To Marshall, though, dealing with finances will be secondary to another important improvement at the hospital.

Marshall’s philosophy about running a hospital begins with the employees. From there, he believes challenges facing any hospital often can be solved through the employees.

As with any interim administrator, Marshall also knows employees at the hospital may fear new management.

No matter how much talking Marshall does inside the hospital, he knows the majority of his work will have to be done outside the walls of Bryan Whitfield Memorial Hospital.

Marshall, who expects to begin work sometime this week, made very clear how he plans to face the challenges of working in a rural hospital.