A timetable for choosing an elected chief of staff was announced Jan. 2 by Kent Garman, immediate past president of the Medical Staff and chair of the COS Nominating Committee, and current Medical Staff President Bryan Bohman.

Letters soliciting nominations for chief of staff and vice chief of staff were sent to active Medical Staff members on Jan. 4, triggering a timetable that Bohman and Garman said is expected to result in balloting in February or March, followed soon thereafter by the announcement of a new chief and vice chief.

Staff members were asked to nominate themselves or colleagues by Jan. 15 for the two open positions.

From that list of qualified candidates, a slate of candidates was to be developed, reviewed and presented by the Nominating Committee to the Medical Executive Committee in February. Then a ballot will be sent to the Medical Staff, said Sandi Edgar, director of medical staff services.

The letter stated that candidates not listed by the Nominating Committee who nevertheless wish to run may be nominated by a petition signed by at least 25 voting members of the medical staff. All candidates will be asked to write a statement describing their past Medical Staff experience, qualifications and view of their possible contributions to the position.

Both the chief and the vice chief positions are designated as part-time and will be compensated, Garman and Bohman said. The chief will serve for two years and be succeeded for two years by the vice chief. Although to begin the process a chief of staff and vice-chief of staff will be elected simultaneously, in subsequent elections, a vice chief will be elected for a two-year-term to be followed automatically by a two-year tenure as chief of staff.

The chief will perform such functions as bylaws and quality oversight for the staff, preside over activities of the medical staff, chair key committees, and represent the Medical Staff to the Hospital Board. The vice chief would basically assist the chief of staff, chair several committees, and act as an apprentice to the chief of staff.

Bohman, whose two-year term as president began in September, announced Jan. 2 he would recuse himself from the nominating process and run for the elected Chief of Staff position. If nominated and elected, he would serve a two-year term as chief of staff; otherwise, he would become immediate past president during the transition period. The current chief of staff position — appointed by the CEO of the hospital and the dean of the medical school and currently held by Larry Shuer— will be eliminated along with the current positions of president and vice-president of the Medical Staff.

The shift to an elected chief position is intended to give the medical staff greater autonomy and to help SHC ensure compliance with state law and Joint Commission mandates for a self-governing medical staff.

For further information about the process, contact SHC medical staff services, (650) 497-8920

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