Christine Martin, CPA, MBA, has joined St. Lukes Hospital as chief financial officer after months of a nationwide search to fill the position.

We are pleased that Christine accepted our offer because we believe she has the skills and experience we need to keep St. Lukes moving forward on an improved financial footing, said Ken Shull, president/chief executive officer of St. Lukes.

Martin brings eight years of experience in hospital finance with an additional 11 years in financial leadership positions. Previous hospital experience includes Knox Community Hospital, a not-for-profit 115 bed, primary care hospital, and most recently Evangelical Community Hospital, a 135-bed hospital in Lewisburg, Pa.

Prior to serving as controller and chief financial officer, Martin worked with several insurance providers, including Ohio Health and Choice and Blue Cross Blue Shield.

With numerous career accomplishments, Martin has led the successful financial turn-around to achieve a 3-percent margin, improved cash flow and developed a long-term capital financing plan to align with strategic planning initiatives. She brings skills in strategic financial planning, capital planning, physician alignment, revenue cycle management, profitability analysis, and managed care contracting and forecasting.

Christine has demonstrated success with previous experiences, many of which are the same challenges we face as a small community hospital in todays economic freefall, Shull said. This is perfect timing to bring in a new but seasoned CFO as our board and administrative team are currently working on a strategic plan for services, growth and the financial viability of our hospital.

Martin replaces Bob Cress, who served as CFO for three years and resigned in May to focus on his own business on a full-time basis. During the search, St. Lukes Hospital was well served by interim CFO Elizabeth Presnell.

We hated to see Elizabeth go (back to her position at Cleveland Regional Medical Center), but we are more than pleased that Christine is here to keep us moving forward to a secure bottom line, Shull said.

Originally from Ohio, Martin relocated to Polk County where she said she enjoys the peace and the pace of rural living. She is an avid outdoors person. When she is not neck deep in spreadsheets, she can be found hiking, kayaking, fishing and bird watching. Recently, Christine became addicted to Zuma and has set a personal goal to ace all 70 challenges in Zumas Revenge by calendar year-end.

Im excited to settle in this beautiful area, and I look forward to the challenges were facing at St. Lukes Hospital, Martin said. Theres a great team in place here and Im glad to be joining their efforts in securing the future of local, accessible, high quality healthcare.

St. Lukes Hospital is a not for profit, acute care hospital affiliated with Carolinas HealthCare System of Charlotte, N.C., for specialized management expertise, experience with developing strong community-based clinical services, and participation in revenue and purchasing contracts. CHS is the largest healthcare system in the Carolinas and the third largest public system in the nation. St. Lukes Hospital is committed to providing exceptional care, close to home.