The board of directors of the Juan F. Luis Medical Center has settled on a candidate for the hospital’s chief operating officer position. During a closed-door emergency meeting Wednesday night, board members debated between three possible applicants, all of whom are current JFL employees.

Board President Kye Walker declined to name the candidate, but said the board would offer them the job as early as Thursday morning.

“Once we get through negotiations, if that moves quickly, they may be able to come onboard as soon as next week,” she said.

The search for a chief operating officer commenced shortly after the board decided to strip former Chief Executive Officer Jeff Nelson of some of his responsibilities in December.

Walker explained that the new chief operating officer would take over the hospital’s clinical operations and would lead the effort to bring JFL into compliance with Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services’ guidelines.

The hospital is currently being reviewed by CMS and is in danger of losing its accreditation with the organization if its standards for patient care are not improved. If that happens, the hospital would no longer receive reimbursements from Medicare or Medicaid, a situation that could prove financially crippling.

A Feb. 13 deadline was set by CMS for the hospital to come into compliance, though it has previously indicated that it would consider an extension provided that a COO was hired, or that the hospital could show it was making firm progress towards that end.

Representatives of CMS were present at the emergency meeting Wednesday night, though Walker said the extension of the deadline was not discussed; rather, the CMS officials briefed the board and staff on the level of communication they expect from the hospital as their review progresses.

“They let us know what they prefer in terms of timeliness and types of matters that are important to them,” Walker said. “The relationship that the hospital has with CMS must be very transparent and open.”

Representatives from CMS also reiterated their demand that the hospital’s psychiatric ward not be reopened until they had signed off on the hospital’s plan to ensure patients safety and care.

There was also discussion between the board, CMS, and the hospital’s consulting firm, Premiere Consultants, regarding JFL’s “third plan of correction.”

“The plan of correction essentially details how the hospital intends to correct the deficiencies that were cited by CMS,” Walker explained.

The hospital has already submitted two plans to CMS, both of which were rejected. They are still in the process of drafting the third plan, and the CMS representatives offered some guidance on what they expected to see in it.

“What is essential to the third plan of correction is to have the COO onboard to review it, finalize it, and make sure it’s sent off to CMS and approved,” Walker said.