Apparently an "average" performance appraisal rating by the Houston County Hospital Authority - issued earlier in the month - was the final straw for the veteran administrator and former Air Force physician, who walked away from the more than $300,000 a year position.
"Maybe a significant part of the problem was my pride," Alford said during a lengthy telephone conversation Wednesday. "I had always been rated above average or outstanding throughout my Air Force career. So that 'average' rating was quite a shock to me."
Alford said hospital authority members had not communicated any major concerns to him during his 20-month tenure as CEO. "If they had, it would have been one thing," he said. "But they didn't."
He said he told authority members during a closed session the evening he resigned that they needed someone who was better than "average" as their CEO, given what the organization was tackling.
Asked about the authority's reaction, Alford said there were no direct comments. "When I expressed my concerns, there was a lot of discussion," he indicated. "I'll just say that."
Alford said he believes a number of board members strongly supported him.
"In fact, I got calls from some of them saying they didn't understand the rating because they had given me the highest scores," he said.
The Telegraph obtained copies of Alford's performance appraisals from the nine-member authority. Few include comments and only one is signed. Most reflect numerical ratings of average or above average. Only one - again without comment - awarded below average scores in the six management categories. The overall rating was 75.1 out of a possible 95.
Alford was selected as CEO in June 2006 after the firing of Frank Aaron. Alford had been executive director of medical affairs for the complex since 2001.
Houston Healthcare has more than 1,800 employees at facilities throughout the county, including hospitals in Warner Robins and Perry.
Alford gave board chairman Sonny Watson a heads-up before the February authority meeting. Watson said he was shocked by the news and tried to talk him out of it, suggesting Alford sleep on it or take a weeklong vacation to reconsider.
"He said, 'No, I've already slept on it. I've made up my mind,' " Watson reported. "He never mentioned exactly why he quit, although he did say he was upset by the rating. I don't think he had any problems with authority members. Everyone I talked with was just shocked."
Watson said Alford left the meeting with him and met with the hospital leadership. "I understand he told them he was resigning and the board could do one of two things - accept his resignation or try to talk me out of it," the chairman recalled.
Watson reviewed the ratings and said he could not spot a comment or score that spurred the reaction.
"I didn't see anything negative," insisted the former state legislator. "I felt that some improvements could be made, but that's true for any organization. I don't know anybody who can get a perfect rating."
Watson strongly denied that the authority micromanages its CEO, as some critics have charged in the wake of Aaron's firing and Alford's resignation.
"I do bring things to the CEO's attention, but that's what we're charged to do," Watson said. "We'd be derelict in our duties if we didn't. Tony always requested that we bring anything we heard to his attention, and we did that to the best of my knowledge."
Alford was noncommittal when asked about micromanagement. "Like any marriage, it's a two-way street," he offered. "They may have had some pretty strong issues with me, but it was never communicated."
The former CEO did attempt to retract his resignation a short time after the Feb. 27 meeting. Alford said he contacted a few of the board members suggesting further discussion to reconcile differences.
"The comments I got back were that the horse was already out of the barn," he recalled.
Watson said the authority had few options by that time. "When someone resigns, that's what it means," the chairman said. "He had announced it to his subordinates. He had resigned, the board accepted it and that was what happened. But with regrets, I might add."
Alford said the ordeal has been very difficult and sad for him and his wife, Sandy. "We both dearly love the community, the hospital and the vision for the community," he said Wednesday. "I thoroughly enjoyed interacting with the community. But you reach a point where you have to make a decision."
He pointed to a number of achievements during the last 20 months, in terms of improving the working environment for employees and in positive cash flow for the hospital system.
"The staff felt I was supporting them," he said. "In fact, a number of the nurses told me that a significant amount of their support was leaving with me. One of the physicians, who has been (at Houston Healthcare) a number of years, told me I was the best CEO they had ever seen."
Alford's plans are uncertain. His contract rules out a medical director or CEO job in Houston County or in any contiguous county.
"So that pretty much limits my local options," he said. "I loved my job and felt we were on the road to great and wonderful things. That potential is still there. There are a number of options but nothing close to being finalized. But you'd have to put me in a rubber room if I stopped working."
Alford said he believes Skip Philips, currently the acting CEO, will be offered the permanent position. "That was the plan all along for him to be my successor," Alford pointed out. "It just happened a little quicker than expected."
To contact writer Gene Rector,
call 923-3109, extension 239.
