Strieby, 50, cited undisclosed "personal and confidential reasons" in announcing the resignation, effective immediately, from the post he had held since January 1991. Reached by telephone, he said he had no other plans "at this point," and then declined to discuss the resignation beyond Franciscan's prepared announcement.
"He really wanted this to take effect immediately," said Mark Thomas, Franciscan's vice president for human resources, who spoke for the medical center. Thomas said the decision was not the result of a failed attempt at a union organization this year or the likelihood of a specialized heart hospital's entering the Dayton market at a time when Franciscan is heavily promoting its heart service.
"I think any time you go through a change in leadership like this, it takes people by surprise and it takes some time to go through that kind of change process," Thomas said, "but we're moving on. We have Duane Erwin in place as interim CEO, and we're looking forward to continue to make some improvements."
Franciscan helped successfully fight a zoning request by MedCath Corp. that would have enabled it to build a specialized heart-care center in Franciscan's neighborhood. MedCath has since announced plans to build the center southeast of downtown.
Hospital employees in three bargaining groups voted in June against joining the Service Employees International Union, District 1199, but the registered nurses' vote was close at 321-276.
A notice to Dayton employees citing Franciscan's declining market share said no applications are being taken for the permanent CEO position.
Erwin, Strieby's interim successor, had been vice president of administration for Franciscan's sister hospitals, the Western Hills and Mount Airy campuses of Franciscan Hospital in Cincinnati.
Duane Erwin
* CONTACT Kevin Lamb at 225-2129 or e-mail him at
kevin_lamb@coxohio.com