The new chairman of the Haywood Regional Medical Center Hospital board called on fellow board members last week to make a culture change, primarily by taking a more active role in hospital management and being open to staff.

“We as board members need to spend some time in the hospital going up and down the halls,” said Glenn White, hospital board chairman. “Hospital personnel have to know who we are and what we look like. We need to establish a level of visibility so they see us and know we are a part of the team.”

White, a hospital board member for eight years, replaces Dr. Nancy Freeman as chairman, who resigned under pressure in the wake of the hospital crisis.

Over the past three weeks, the hospital board has been blamed in part for the crisis by the public, by the medical community and by consultants hired to help fix the problems. The board was criticized for not properly overseeing hospital affairs and instead sitting back while former CEO David Rice ran the show. When red flags appeared, Rice spun his own version of events, which the board seemed to embrace with few questions.

For years, doctors or nurses who raised concerns were publicly labeled as troublemakers. Privately, their jobs and careers were threatened. Staff eventually quit voicing concerns out of fear — a finding cited by Medicare inspectors and the hospital’s consultant group.

White said that needs to change, and the hospital board is now here to listen. White said the consultant’s description of the board’s shortcomings were not too much of a surprise, but when “rolled into one package” the problems seemed more obvious.

“We can sit back and say this got thrust upon us, but maybe somewhere along the line there were some things we could have done differently,” White said at a hospital board meeting. “I don’t want to rehash all those things, but I do want to look at the past as a way of identifying those things to fix in the future so we don’t repeat those mistakes.”

White said the board has a lot of work to do. One big task is recruiting a new slate of top managers: a new CEO, a nursing manager, ER manager, human resources director, and quality and oversight manager.

White said the finance committee of the board should be meeting almost daily. That happens to be White’s forte. White has been treasurer of the hospital board for years and like Rice worked hard to generate a positive bottom line. White, now retired, was a civil engineer and worked in a variety of management positions for the Martin Marietta and Lafarge corporations.

“I hope I can lead the board through this time of somewhat crisis,” White said.

Dr. Luis Munoz, a pathologist, questioned whether the board grasps the gravity of the situation and has what it takes to fix it.

“I will be quite honest, you guys still make me a little nervous,” Munoz told the board. “I hope you encompass a lot of people’s expertise though this ‘somewhat crisis’ as you put it.”

As a pathologist, Munoz’s livelihood is directly dependent on patient volume in the hospital, which has dropped nearly 70 percent.

Also at the meeting, the hospital board passed a resolution honoring Dr. Freeman for her “dedicated leadership” and all the time and energy she invested into the hospital as a member of the board.