I was chairman of the board of a not-for-profit hospital, Southern Regional Medical Center, which developed financial difficulties and Jay initially was retained as a consultant to help turn around the organization. He immediately rolled up his sleeves and took on the difficult task head on and performed so well that we subsequently asked him to be our permanent CFO and help us right the organization. During this period Jay worked diligently and relentlessly and at the same time communicated well with our board as well as several other constituents including Emory Healthcare who was our managing partner and the County politicians. Cash flow was a major issue and he was able to obtain additional monies with various financing tools and help with defeasing a multi-million dollar bond which save Southern Regional more than $3 million yearly. It was not because of Jay’s efforts that ultimately the organization could not survive on its own and Jay then helped with a complicated and at times emotional sale of the hospital which allowed its doors to be kept open and serve our community.
I worked closely with Jay during these difficult times and he always kept me informed and I was impressed by his calm and focused demeanor. His critical thinking and creativity were also strong assets and helped to sustain the hospital as long as it was. Jay is the right person to assist an organization with need for turnaround, help with a potential merger or sale or to help financially stabilize an organization that might be experiencing rocky times.
