T-L Photo/GAGE VOTA Julie Ross is East Ohio Regional Hospital’s new chief operating officer after former COO Bernie Albertini resigned.

MARTINS FERRY — East Ohio Regional Hospital has a new chief operating officer.

Following the recent resignation of Bernie Albertini, the hospital moved Julie Ross into the position. Before stepping into the COO role, Ross was the hospital’s chief nursing officer and vice president of revenue cycle. A 29-year veteran of the health care industry, she has been in EORH’s administration for the past three years.

Ross said she is excited about her new role and the hospital’s collaborative team spirit, as it continues to keep quality patient care a priority.

“I look forward to serving as the chief operating officer as we progress forward with all of this exciting news and growth for our facility,” she said.

Albertini resigned from the COO role earlier this week. The hospital had issues with its payroll processing in late August, which delayed paychecks for some employees. According to statements from Albertini and Unified Bank at the time, a bank issue caused a delay in processing wire transfers to the hospital’s payroll company, Paylocity. Because of that, some employees received their paychecks Friday, Aug. 23, others got theirs Saturday, Aug. 24, and, according to Albertini, the rest were processed Monday, Aug. 26.

Ross said Albertini’s departure had “no correlation to any financial impact on the hospital.” Albertini could not be reached for comment Friday afternoon.

Ross said that the administrators in place at the hospital will work together well to lead the staff.

“Our C suite is very close,” she said. “Dr. David Schaffer is our chief medical officer and Dr. John Johnson sits as our chief financial officer and chief executive officer. I work with them and our entire C suite to make sure that we’re working together in making collaborative decisions.”

Ross said that new features at the hospital will help improve the patient experience. Among them is a new chiller system that will manage the temperature and humidity in the operating room. Because that system is being installed, Ross said the operating room is currently closed and will remain closed for the next week.

Other projects include cardiology services expanding with electrophysiology and upgrading operating theaters with new equipment to meet the additional demand, which is expected to be ready in October.

“We have a lot of exciting growth planned ahead,” Ross said.