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Paris Regional Names New CEO

From news release:

Christopher Dux Named CEO of Paris Regional Medical Center
Interim chief Salerno to assist in transition before taking on corporate role

PARIS, TX AND NASHVILLE, TN - Proven hospital operator Christopher Dux has been named CEO of Paris Regional Medical Center, officials from Essent Healthcare, Inc. announced today.

Richard E. Salerno, who has been interim CEO at Paris Regional since January, will rejoin the corporate leadership team at Essent as senior vice president of operations.

"Chris combines the strong leadership, effective communication and operational know-how we were looking for," said W. Hudson Connery Jr., president and CEO of Essent. "He has proven himself in a variety of situations and we're glad to have him join our team."

Dux's hospital administration career has taken him from Virginia to Tennessee and Arizona. Most recently, he was CEO of River Park Hospital, a 125-bed facility in McMinnville, Tenn. Previously, he was interim CEO at two community hospitals on the Gulf Coast.

A graduate of Belmont Abbey College in North Carolina and the Duke Endowment/Charlotte Memorial Hospital and Medical Center, Dux began his career at various hospitals in North Carolina before becoming CEO of HealthTrust's Pulaski Community Hospital in Virginia in 1992. He also has led hospitals owned by HCA Inc. and Vanguard Health Systems.

"I'm excited to join Essent and looking forward to working with the talented and dedicated staff at Paris Regional," said Dux. "I see a bright future for the hospital, and am eager to continue the excellent work Richard Salerno and his team have been doing in Paris."

Dux will arrive in Paris May 14.

Salerno, who is currently serving as interim CEO of Essent's Paris Regional Medical Center in Texas, will stay in Paris to assist with Dux's transition. As senior vice president of operations, he will be responsible for Paris Regional as well as Merrimack Valley Hospital in Massachusetts. He also will focus on the company's quality improvement efforts and other corporate initiatives.

"Richard has done a fine job in the short time he's been in Paris," said Connery. "His leadership skills will be very valuable at the corporate level as we continue to build Essent into a premier hospital operator."

Salerno has amassed more than two decades of diverse healthcare operations experience. He served for 12 years as a hospital CEO in the HCA/HealthTrust/Columbia system in Austin, Texas and Charlotte, N.C., before joining Essent for the first time in 1999. He rejoined the company last year after a stint at hospital turnaround company FTI Cambio Health Solutions.

(Editor's note: Christopher Dux's last names is pronounced Dukes.)

About Paris Regional Medical Center

Paris Regional Medical Center offers some of the most comprehensive health and wellness care in Northeast Texas and Southeast Oklahoma. Its campuses have more than 300 beds combined and offer acute-care services as well as women's health, rehabilitation, outpatient surgery, gero-psychiatric services and pediatric services.

About Essent

Founded in 1999, Essent Healthcare owns and operates hospitals that are essential parts of their communities. From Haverhill and Ayer, Mass.; and Waynesburg, Penn.; to Paris, Texas and Sharon, Conn.; Essent works with local physicians, healthcare professionals and civic leaders to determine the hospital services most needed in that community.