Willis Knighton CEO James Elrod will be leaving his post..eventually.

Elrod, the board of trustees, and Willis Knighton doctors have been in a bitter battle over the last few weeks. The CEO was accused of multiple transgressions in a letter sent out by the Willis Knighton Medical Executive Committee. The letter made strong allegations, and at one point became critical of Elrod's recent job performance. It read:

“Recent decisions made by the CEO display a distinct lack of understanding of these realities. Failure to fully embrace the transition to a new information system, inflexibility in responding to the rise in Medicaid, failure to appreciate the importance of actively managing the care of hospitalized patients are simple examples of this deficit in understanding”

After the Medical Executive Committee issued their letter, and emergency meeting of the Board of Trustees was called. The meeting was watched very closely by the media and Willis Knighton staff. Some doctors went as far as following the meeting from a downtown Shreveport location to Boomtown Casino, after the meeting was moved due to "safety concerns". During that meeting, the Board decided to remain with their current CEO with full backing.

Today, Elrod issued a letter of his own to the Willis Knighton staff. The purpose of the letter appears to be to inform staff of the begin of a transitional period for the health system. His letter refers to a "nationwide search for a senior executive".

However, it is clear in the letter that Elrod is not leaving immediately. In fact, Elrod states that he and the Board will work to develop the "succession plan". There is no date, or timeline, referred to in the letter. You can read the entire Elrod letter here: JKE_Letter

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