New chief takes helm at struggling UMC

Brian Brannman officially took over as the new chief executive of the financially strapped University Medical Center.

Clark County commissioners Tuesday installed Brannman, 55, replacing Kathy Silver, who retired from the post earlier this month. He will earn $250,000 yearly, the same salary as Silver received.

Commissioners stressed Brannman’s two biggest tasks will be helping UMC become more of a teaching and research hospital while curbing a perennial deficit that reached more than $70 million last year, largely because UMC treats poor and uninsured patients.

“I look forward to seeing you in your leadership role and reducing the deficit,” Commissioner Lawrence Weekly said.

The quiet changeover was in contrast to when Silver took the reins after UMC chief Lacy Thomas was fired in 2007, partly because of allegations he steered $10 million in contracts to his Chicago friends.

In June, a judge dismissed the theft and misconduct charges against Thomas.

A former U.S. Navy rear admiral, Brannman became the second in command at UMC in 2008.

He has spent more than 30 years in hospital administration. He ran the Naval Medical Center in San Diego for two years and was once the director of the Navy Medical Service Corps.

Commissioner Steve Sisolak asked to see a written evaluation of Brannman. County Manager Don Burnette said he would supply the report in two weeks.

Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani said she chose Brannman over Silver when the two were vying for UMC’s top job a few years ago because he seemed to “think outside the box.”

She joked that he might be a bigger masochist than commissioners for taking on such a tough job.

Brannman acknowledged UMC’s struggles.

“I think we’ve been through some hard times but we’re on the mend,” Brannman said.