The Riverside Medical Center Board of Commissioners’ search committee met Friday at noon to review candidates for the open CEO position at the Franklinton Hospital.

In early March, CEO Dr. Kyle Magee announced he would resign the position, and since then the board has been seeking a replacement.

Brent King, the chairman of the board of commissioners, said the meeting, which was primarily in an executive session closed to the public, went well.

King said the commissioners are seeking applicants until April 15. However, just because the applicant deadline is next week, there is no reason to expect a decision anytime soon.

King explained that possible legislative budget cuts to Our Lady of the Angels Hospital in Bogalusa could impact how Riverside operates and that in turn could determine who the best CEO for the Franklinton hospital would be. The legislature ends its session June 6.

Regardless of the legislature, King said so far the board has received a good number of experienced applicants.

“It looks good,” he said. “We have had over 60 applicants apply.”

Of those, he said between 25 and 30 seem like they could fit Riverside.

King said the board isn’t giving preference to local or even regional candidates.

“We’re looking for the best candidate overall,” he said. “It would be good if we could get someone from Louisiana or from this area, but at this point, we’re looking for the best candidate overall.”

With such a wide net, he said he’s been happy with what the commissioners have received.

“We have 25 applicants that have CEO experience in a hospital,” he said.

King said ideally the board will get a candidate who has CEO experience and who has a master’s in hospital administration.

But, King added, the best candidate can’t be known until state lawmakers wrap up in June, because less state funding for Our Lady of the Angels Hospital could mean an operational change for Riverside. King said the two hospitals have already talked about sharing workload and cutting costs that way, so legislative moves could determine the best candidate for Riverside.

“We just don’t know what we can do until we’re sure of what the funding is going to be for the Bogalusa hospital first,” King said