The Board of Trustees at Fitzgibbon Hospital in Marshall has announced that Angela Littrell, CPA, MBA, who currently serves as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer, will be succeeding Darin Haug, D.O., as president and chief executive officer during the first quarter of 2020.

Dr. Haug will be returning to his full time practice in the Emergency Department and will also continue to serve as Chief Medical Officer for the organization. The Fitzgibbon Hospital Board of Trustees approved Littrell’s appointment and Dr. Haug’s transition back to the Emergency Department at its October meeting.

“Within the leadership of any organization, it is best practice to have ongoing leadership development and succession planning, and we’ve been doing this since shortly after I became CEO in 2015,” said Dr. Haug."

“It has been a sincere honor to help lead such a wonderful organization of dedicated care providers and caregivers – truly committed to the health and wellbeing of those in our community. I feel deeply that the Lord has blessed me with the opportunity and ability to be a physician. I have also been able to more fully realize that taking care of people in the ER is my passion and where my heart is, and it is also where I feel like I am able to make a difference.

"There is an old saying that says when you have the opportunity to do something you love, you should do it every day - and if you do what you love, you’ll never ‘work’ a day in your life. This really sums up the reason for my decision to return to full time practice in the ER. Angy has done a great job as CFO/COO, and I feel the transition will be seamless and best for us as an organization. She is fully prepared for this move, especially with the healthcare experience she already has and, in the last several months, when she has taken on more administrative leadership."

Littrell joined Fitzgibbon Hospital in June of 2014 after leaving Boone Hospital Center in Columbia, MO., where she was Director of Physician Services, a position she began in 1998. In that role, Littrell’s areas of responsibility were physician services and recruitment, marketing and public relations, strategic planning, business development and oversight of Boone Hospital Homecare and Hospice. In all, she brings 29 years of healthcare experience to the position.

Since joining Fitzgibbon, Littrell has overseen the executive operations of the organization as Chief Operating Officer as well as the financial operations as Chief Financial Officer. She also has served as the management executive supervising the following departments: Financial Services, including Accounting, Payroll and Patient Accounts; Materials Management (supply chain); Patient Registration; Nutritional Services; Health Information Management; Human Resources; Marketing & Public Relations and Managed Care. She has been actively involved in the Missouri Hospital Association, including various subcommittees; the Healthcare Financial Management Association and the American College of Healthcare Executives.

“We’ve been planning for this for a long time,” said Littrell. “I want to thank Dr. Haug for his leadership and mentorship for the past four plus years, and I am honored that the Fitzgibbon Hospital Board of Trustees has confidence in me to step in and lead the organization. I look forward to continuing to work with Dr. Haug side-by-side as Chief Medical Officer."

Littrell acknowledged that rural hospitals face many challenges in the ever-changing health care environment. She noted that hospitals need to respond and evolve as community social determinants of health, business conditions and governmental regulation dictate change.

“I look forward to the hard work and great responsibility it will take to meet the challenges that small, rural hospitals like Fitzgibbon face. It’s an exciting time for rural healthcare, as new modalities - such as telemedicine - come to the forefront,” she said.

“Maintaining access to high quality, compassionate care has been within our mission since Fitzgibbon Hospital admitted its first patient in 1923, and it will remain the priority for everything we do at Fitzgibbon,” she concluded.

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