FERRIDAY — Former Natchez Regional Medical Center CEO Lana Morgan has been named the new administrator for Riverland Medical Center in Ferriday.

Riverland Board Chairman Jim Graves said the board is excited to be working with Morgan.

“She did a great job at Natchez Regional, and we are glad to have her on board,” he said.

Graves said the board had approximately 22 applications for the position, and Morgan was one of the two who were called in for an interview.

“She is very knowledgeable, and we felt like she was the top candidate,” he said. “She has the full support of the board and the police jury behind her.”

Graves said Morgan’s first day was Monday, and so far everything has been running smoothly.

“Right now she is getting the lay of the hospital,” he said. “She is working on interviewing department heads and employees at the hospital, asking them what needs to be done.”

Morgan served as interim CEO for Natchez Regional for 10 months until recently. The NRMC board recently hired Bill Heburn as CEO; he began work Nov. 1.

Morgan worked at Natchez Regional for 19 years prior to being appointed interim CEO.

She served as Chief Operations Officer before being the interim CEO of NRMC.

Riverland board member Fred Butcher said the board made the decision to hire Morgan based on her previous experience.

“Most rural hospitals have the same problems,” he said. “With her previous work at Natchez Regional, she has dealt with the same things Riverland is dealing with now.”

The board was also looking for someone with experience in both the medical and financial aspects of running a hospital, Butcher said.

“She has had experience trying to shape up hospitals,” he said. “We need someone who can get us on solid financial footing.”

Butcher said he expects Morgan to bring focus to the hospital.

“She has great communication skills,” he said. “She is very goal-oriented and knows the value of a small rural hospital.”

Butcher said the board was looking for someone who could help unify the hospital.

“We need to get everyone working together on the same team,” he said.

Butcher said the No. 1 thing the board was looking for when they chose Morgan was to improve the quality of health care at Riverland.

“She is very familiar with the changing laws that are affecting the medical industry,” he said. “Once she gets settled in, we want her to make recommendations on what she thinks needs to be done.”

Butcher said only time will tell if the hire was the right move.

“There will be some difficult times in the near future,” he said. “Once those pass, we will know if the right decision was made.”

Morgan could not be reached for comment.