David McClure reflects on time at Camden Clark Medical Center as he readies for new job

PARKERSBURG -- For the last four years, Camden Clark Medical Center President and CEO David McClure has overseen many changes at the Parkersburg-based hospital as he now looks to make a greater contribution with the WVU Medicine Health System of which Camden Clark is a part.

McClure recently announced his departure as President and CEO of the Camden Clark Medical Center as of December 31, 2017. He recently accepted a position in Morgantown as the Vice President of Strategic Initiatives with WVU Medicine where he will assume the responsibility for short and long term strategic planning, goal setting for WVU Medicine and act as a liaison for the system senior leadership team.

"It will be a new adventure for me in Morgantown," he said.

McClure has been president and CEO of the Camden Clark Medical Center for four years. He has been at Camden Clark for ten years having previously served as Vice President of Operations and the Chief Operating Officer.

During his time as President and CEO, McClure oversaw the consolidation of the Memorial Campus and the former St. Joseph's Campus (which were previously Camden-Clark Memorial Hospital and St. Joseph's Hospital) and the construction of the new emergency department.

"I am most proud of the consolidation of the two hospitals together," McClure said. "I was the architect behind that and the expansion of the South Tower with the new emergency department and the new inpatient unit which has allowed us to increase our private bed rooms to almost 90 percent."

McClure will remain as President and CEO through the end of the year to allow time for his replacement to be picked and for him to help in the transition.

"We are starting our search for our successor and we should kick that off sometime in July with the hope we can find someone before I need to move to Morgantown," he said. "We will use an outside firm, because we really want to do a national search.

"The viable candidates will go through a process of interviews with the local board, the system board and leadership here in Parkersburg."

McClure said this was the perfect time for him to accept his new position as Camden Clark is in the best shape it has ever been.

"Camden Clark is a stable organization, both financially and clinically," he said.

Throughout the rest of this year, McClure wants to finalize some of the projects underway at the medical center, including the new building to house the hospital's cardiology program as part of the WVU Medicine's Heart and Vascular Institute. The building will include offices, examination rooms, testing facilities and more. Officials are in the process of making the last minute changes in the new design in both the architecture and the engineering. They want to break ground soon on a spot on the north end of the Camden Clark Medical Office Building.

Hospital officials have said their cardiology program is well recognized, both regionally and nationally, as they are the only hospital in the region which performs open heart surgery done by Dr. Bryan Bush who is a member of the WVU Medicine's Heart and Vascular Institute.

McClure also wants to be on hand to help his replacement to get established.

"I want to be here for the transition with the new person coming in to help that person get accumulated to the community, the organization and the staff here," he said.

Although he is taking on a new position with WVU Medicine, McClure said he will still be in the Parkersburg area regularly, at least once a month.

"I am not going away," he said. "I will actually be interacting with Camden Clark on a regular basis through strategic initiatives, leadership projects, goals and accomplishments along with being the liaison with the system, the senior leadership and the leadership of the hospital.

"I will still be in constant contact with Camden along with all of the other hospitals and organizations within our system."

In addition to McClure, Camden Clark's Vice President of Human Resources Tom Heller is taking on more responsibilities with WVU Medicine.

Heller has accepted a position with the responsibility for overseeing WVU Medicine's Compensation and Employee Performance Management Programs.

"While I will maintain my VP of HR responsibilities here at CCMC all other operational responsibilities have been assumed by Sean Smith and Senior Leaders at CCMC," he said. "My wife and I will continue to reside in Parkersburg and I will be traveling to Morgantown a few days a week."

Heller has been Vice President of Operations/Human Resources at Camden Clark Medical Center since November of 2003. He has also provided oversight for Rehab Services, Medical Staff, Wellness Center, Security & Safety, Dietary and Environmental Services.

"The new position within WVU Medicine position is attractive because it offers me the opportunity to develop a compensation philosophy for the entire WVU Medicine hospital system which includes nearly 10,000 employees," he said. "I'm not ready to slow down just yet and this will be a great opportunity for me to make some significant contributions before I actually do."

McClure credits the staff, physicians and nurses with making Camden Clark what it is.

"They are great," he said. "That is the one word I can use. Everyone here really does wrap their arms around this community."

One example of that was the hospital leadership team doing painting work at Jefferson School.

"There isn't a day that goes by when a member of our staff is not out volunteering out in the community to make the community a better place to live," McClure said.

McClure said Camden Clark will continue to grow its Oncology services for cancer treatment.

"We want to be the benchmark Oncology program in the state of West Virginia," he said.

They will also be forming partnerships with a number of community hospitals to expand services to other areas while utilizing other hospitals in the state to bring the best care possible to the people of West Virginia.

McClure will continue that work through WVU Medicine.

"We want to make sure that patients don't have to leave West Virginia for any care they need," he said.