Highland Community Hospital not only has new leadership, the administration is working to streamline communication with its parent hospital, Forrest General.
Bryan Maxie was hired last week as the new administrator of Highland after spending the last six years running Marion General Hospital, Jefferson Davis Community Hospital and Walthall General Hospital, he said.
“I started out pushing a wheelchair,” Maxie, who’s spent 24 years with the Forrest Health System, said. “I’m very proud that I started at the bottom.”
However, Maxie said there are some obstacles to overcome at Highland, acknowledging the community’s lack of trust in the hospital.
“We’ve got to earn that trust,” he said.
In order to earn that trust he will have to get patients in the door.
To do that, he said the main focus is the emergency room and improving the quality of care by treating patients “just like my mom would be treated,” Maxie said.
To achieve customer satisfaction, he said he hopes to remove any reason why someone would receive care somewhere else when they could go to Highland.
In the future, improving the surgical unit and growing obstetrics and pediatric services will be another priority, he said.
“There’s no stone that’s not going to be turned,” Maxie said.
With other changes to the Forrest Health system, like current CFO Andy Woodard succeeding CEO and President Evan Dillard in 2019, Maxie said he now answers directly to the president.
Through that streamlined communication channel, combined with his experience at the company, Maxie said he knows who to go to make improvements.
That quick response will help make the hospital a more effective and efficient facility, he said.
From a technology standpoint and to hospital’s grounds, Maxie said the facility has tremendous growth opportunities.
But growth will only come with the support of the community, something he is already seeking by meeting with county officials.
“I want everybody in this hospital involved with this county,” he said. “We are not just here for Picayune.”
To further that effort, Maxie said he plans to have more of a presence in local schools and at community events.
Despite his work history in other parts of the state, Maxie is no stranger to Pearl River County.
He attended Pearl River Community College where he played football after growing up in Forrest County.
“It’s like coming home to me,” he said.
After accepting the new position, Maxie said he and his wife of 34 years, Angela, are excited to relocate to Pearl River County.
“What better place to move to?” he said.