The beginning of Monday evening’s Wabash General Hospital board of directors meeting was spent remembering the life of former WGH President/CEO Jay Purvis who passed away last week in North Carolina at the age of 81. Following a moment of silence, board chairperson Toni Brines said Purvis led the way in Wabash General’s growth and expansion over the past decade plus…. 

William Easton was board chairman while Purvis was at WGH and he said Jay had a velvet glove… 

After working with him for 18 years, Karissa Turner took over as President/CEO upon Purvis’s retirement at the end of 2018. 

During Purvis’s time as President/CEO, Wabash General’s growth included becoming Wabash County’s largest employer, establishing a scholarship program for local students, starting the orthopedic and sports medicine department that included the recruitment of Dr. Julko Fullop, and envisioning the new medical office building that opened last year. A private service for Jay Purvis will be held at a later date.