The Board of Directors of Wabash General Hospital is very pleased to announce that Karissa Turner has been selected to succeed Jay Purvis as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Wabash General Hospital, effective with Mr. Purvis’ scheduled retirement.  Earlier this year, Mr. Purvis announced his plans to retire at the end of 2018.  Mrs. Turner, the current Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Hospital will be appointed to the positon of CEO effective with the retirement of Mr. Purvis on December 31, 2018.  The Board is delighted that a well-known, highly skilled, qualified candidate surfaced from within the Hospital’s existing administrative staff.  The Board is also very thankful that Jay Purvis chose to share his talents and expertise with the Hospital for the past 15 years.  The Hospital has experienced significant growth and success during his tenure.

Mrs. Turner has been with the Hospital since August 2005.  She served initially as the Office Practice Manager for a part of the Hospital’s services known as Wabash Orthopaedic Surgery and Sports Medicine.  Since then, Mrs. Turner obtained a Master’s Degree in Business Administration while advancing to positions of increased responsibility.  In 2008, she became the Director of Physician Practices, an area of the Hospital’s business which has grown significantly.  Also, she was instrumental in expanding the Hospital’s orthopaedic practices and took the lead in expanding sports medicine and providing sports trainers to nine area schools.  She also led the effort to establish orthopaedic clinics to the Illinois communities of Lawrenceville, Carmi, and Fairfield.  In June of 2015, Mrs. Turner was promoted to Vice President of Operations, and again promoted in March of 2018 to Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.  At each step in her career, Mrs. Turner has demonstrated the willingness and ability to perform at a very high level.

Mrs. Turner is very community-minded person and is an active member of Rotary, the Mount Carmel CEO Program, and other community organizations.  She, her husband Ryan, and their three daughters are long-term residents of Mount Carmel.

The Board of Directors continues to be extremely proud of Wabash General Hospital and its mission to provide quality health care services to Wabash County and the surrounding area, and its tradition of service over the past 67 years.  The Board is enthusiastic in their support of this succession decision and convinced that Mrs. Karissa Turner will provide the leadership and direction necessary to keep Wabash General Hospital the caring, convenient, quality health care organization that it is today.