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B. E. Smith Hires Tom Murphree as Vice President, Project Leader

B. E. Smith recently hired Tom Murphree as vice president, project leader for the firm’s Interim Leadership and Consulting Solutions divisions. A seasoned healthcare executive with more than 25 years of domestic and global senior leadership experience, Murphree will begin work at B. E. Smith immediately.

Lenexa, Kansas (Vocus/PRWEB) February 01, 2011

B. E. Smith recently hired Tom Murphree as vice president, project leader for the firm’s Interim Leadership and Consulting Solutions divisions. A seasoned healthcare executive with more than 25 years of domestic and global senior leadership experience, Murphree will begin work at B. E. Smith immediately.

In his new role, Murphree will lead a number of interim and consulting leaders nationwide who providesolutions for B. E. Smith clients. During his career in healthcare, Murphree has successfully led and managed the full range of clinical services, as well as quality and performance improvement and regulatory and accreditation services.

“Tom is accomplished in leading organizations through start-up, performance improvement, change, restructuring and turnaround,” said Deirdre Byrne, senior vice president of Interim and Consulting Services, B. E. Smith. “With a solid track record of demonstrated results in virtually all areas of healthcare delivery, his proven leadership and management skills will be invaluable to our clients.”

Prior to joining B. E. Smith, Murphree served in successively greater healthcare leadership roles, including chief operating officer and chief nursing officer. His work experience includes senior executive positions at for-profit and not-for-profit hospitals, academic medical centers and large health systems, where he increased market share and profitability through business development andinitiatives. Additionally, he has overseen the development and management of new hospitals and led the selection and implementation of electronic medical record systems. His background includes experience in accreditation readiness, patient safety goal implementation, patient care model enhancement, productivity and strategic planning.

Murphree holds a bachelor’s of science degree in nursing and a master of science in nursing administration from the University of Alabama in Birmingham, Ala. He is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) and the American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE).

Murphree can be reached at tmurphree(at)besmith(dot)com.

About B. E. Smith: Founded in 1978, B. E. Smith is a full-service leadership solutions firm for healthcare providers. B. E. Smith’s comprehensive suite of services includes Interim Healthcare Leadership, Permanent Executive Placements and Consulting Solutions. The company is comprised of veteran healthcare leaders who partner with each client to create a solution that uniquely fits that client’s individual needs. B. E. Smith maintains the largest database of skilled leadership and interim executive candidates in the industry and recently placed more than 600 leaders into healthcare organizations worldwide. For more information, visitor call 877-802-4593.

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Christine RicciB. E. Smith(913) 708-8913Email Information

Steelers arrive in playful mood

FORT WORTH, Texas – The big rodeo is in town. It's called the Super Bowl.

If Monday is a fair indication, this could be a wild week in Big D.

Video cameras and cowboy hats were in order for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers when they arrived six days before they'll face off for the NFL championship.

With dozens of fans chanting "Go Pack Go," the Packers witnessed Super Bowl frenzy for the first time in 13 years. Many of the players carried video cameras or aimed their cell phones at the crowd to take pictures before heading to news conferences.

A few of them wore cowboy hats, but none went so far as Steelers veteran receiver Hines Ward. He took the "True Grit" route, decked out in black cowboy hat, black shirt, Texas-sized belt buckle and jeans.

"I'm in Dallas, Texas," Ward said, smiling as if he'd just won the Super Bowl MVP trophy, something he did in the 2006 game. "I wanted to put on my whole cowboy outfit and enjoy it. No nerves."

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger held his mobile phone high, taking photos of the six-deep pack of reporters at his podium.

"Just taking it in stride, enjoying this opportunity regardless of what comes or how it comes," Roethlisberger said. "Take it all in."

Taking it all in were the big guys who block for him. They paid tribute to tackle Flozell Adams, who spent a dozen seasons as a Dallas Cowboy before joining this Pittsburgh team, by wearing his No. 76 Michigan State shirt as they deplaned.

"It's special to bring back the throwbacks, for all the guys to wear them," Adams said. "They're all still walking around with them on. ... I'm grateful for it."

There were plenty of fans in black and gold outside the Steelers' hotel, some carrying the obligatory Terrible Towels. But they were far outnumbered at the Packers' hotel in Irving a few hours later when the NFC champions pulled in.

Maybe that has something to do with Pittsburgh making its third Super Bowl appearance in six years. Not that the players are blase about it.

"It's always exciting for the opportunity to close up the season by playing in the Super Bowl," Roethlisberger said. "I don't think you ever get tired of this, so take as much video and pictures as you can."

Clearly, the first day of Super Bowl week was not about blocking blitzers or sidestepping tacklers. Confronting anything more pressurized than answering questions from the media was not a consideration.

"It definitely sets in today, but guys that have been here before, they understand what it's going to be like," said linebacker James Farrior, the most experienced Steeler with 14 years in the NFL. "We just tell the young guys, `Just do what we do. Just take it all in. Enjoy the moment. Enjoy this time.' It's supposed to be a fun time for everybody this whole week."

Ward got a kick out of how some teammates who haven't traveled this far into the postseason handled the trip from Steel City to Big D.

"I think a lot of guys kind of overpacked, really not knowing," he said. "They were just excited to be here. For a lot of guys, some anxiety. When you get here, you get the police escort and the helicopter following you and all the guys have the cameras and whatnot. It's still fun to see the younger guys and also fun to see the veteran guys. I still enjoy it."

With neither team practicing until Wednesday, there's one more day of frivolity: media day. This should send a jolt — or at least a shudder — through the Packers, who have just three players with Super Bowl experience. Charles Woodson and Ryan Pickett, both lost in the big game, and John Kuhn was on the 2008 Steelers' practice squad and watched them win from the sideline.

"Maybe ignorance is bliss for us," quarterback Aaron Rodgers cracked.

For travelers, Cairo's safest view is from a plane

CAIRO – Thousands of foreigners flocked to Cairo's airport, some scuffling with airline staff while others dug deep into their pockets to pay a final bribe before they would be able to contemplate the chaos engulfing Egypt from the safety of an aircraft's window at 30,000 feet.

More than 18,000 passengers converged on Cairo International Airport on Tuesday, frantic for a way out. Their numbers were eclipsed only by the 250,000 demonstrators massed in the capital's downtown — the epicenter of a protest movement to oust Egypt's ruler of 30 years, Hosni Mubarak.

The scene downtown was more organized than at the airport, where the strains of a week of unrest were showing on tourists and foreigners who for years had called Egypt home. Adding to the sense of urgency was an order from the U.S. State Department for all non-emergency personnel and their families to leave. Washington had, until Tuesday, just suggested it would be a good idea to go.

That was easier said than done.

"People holding tickets had difficulties getting on the plane, because the airport in Cairo is pure chaos," Canadian tourist Tristin Hutton, 44, said after his plane landed at Germany's Frankfurt airport. "The terminals are full of panicking people."

EgyptAir, the national carrier, canceled about 100 of its nearly 150 scheduled international flights and halted its service after 5 p.m. until Wednesday morning. The carrier has been canceling about 75 percent of its flights because crew are either unable to make it because of curfews, or are too worried about leaving their families.

Officials said about 3,000 to 3,500 passengers were at the airport after the curfew went into effect for the night. In previous nights, that has meant the passengers were essentially stranded until the morning.

The family of the former tourism minister, Zohair Garanah, left Cairo on a Greece-bound private jet, marking the latest exit from the country by a member of Egypt's reviled business and political elite. Protesters have complained that Mubarak's regime favored the rich at their expense, and several wealthy businessmen are members of the parliament.

As the crowds at the airport grew, so did tensions.

A group of EgyptAir employees scuffled with passengers who rushed the ticket counter, desperate to secure a reservation, airport officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.

Others tapped their government for help, and the planes came in droves. Airlines from around the world arranged about 85 flights to ferry people to their respective nations. The destinations included the more placid Libya, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. The U.S. sent in more than a dozen charter flights on Monday and Tuesday to fly those citizens who wished to leave. More flights to the designated safe haven destinations of Cyprus, Turkey and Greece were expected Wednesday.

Even Baghdad's roadside and suicide bombings appeared to be a more comforting prospect than remaining in a city where looters torched stores and youth turned out in the thousands, armed with clubs, shovels, machetes and the occasional gun to defend their neighborhoods. Iraq flew in three planes to evacuate its nationals, including the prime minister's plane.

The violence in the Egyptian capital was etched in New York-resident Pamela Huyser's memory. She had traveled to Egypt for a conference and had an birds-eye view of the unrest from her ninth-floor hotel balcony.

"You cannot even believe what we saw," she said after arriving in Larnaca, Cyprus. "We saw people looting, we saw gunfire, people shooting other people. A lot of people working in our hotel, they came out with sticks and knives and bats and they protected us from getting looted."

The parting image for others came in the form of a firsthand experience of the kind of corruption that some protesters said was the catalyst for their rage.

While complaining about the disappearance of ground staff at the airport, Hutton, the Canadian tourist, recalled that the passengers banded together to "collect $2,000 for a policeman at the door."

"He would not let us pass without paying," he said.

At a the terminal where the government-chartered flights departed, officials said more than 8,000 people were trying to leave. More than 35 flights flew out from that terminal.

Governments continued to warn against travel to Egypt, and many advised their nationals to avoid travel to the country — especially Cairo and Alexandria. The Red Sea resorts favored by the Europeans have so far been spared the unrest, but while thousands opted to stay put, others wanted out.

Most of the 3,500 Finns at resorts in Egypt have returned home on flights organized by their travel agencies. A 200-seat aircraft was to be sent to Cairo by the Finnish Foreign Ministry on Wednesday to evacuate those living in Egypt.

Britain said it had not ordered its staff to leave, but confirmed most diplomats' families had left. Germany, meanwhile, expanded its travel warning to include Red Sea resorts, but did not order evacuations. Some 1.2 million Germans visit Egypt each year.

The panic and unrest appeared to be the most enduring memory for many who had come to Egypt anticipating exploring its monuments and sunning on the beaches.

Madeline Murphy Rabb, a Chicago-based curator, said that a Nile cruise to celebrate her 66th birthday was interrupted by the protests, with passengers confined to the ship at Luxor for two days.

"The manager of the tour ship restricted us from leaving the boat because he feared for our safety," Rabb said in a telephone interview from London on Tuesday.

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Staff in Associated Press bureaus around the world contributed to this report.

W African central bank shuts down in Ivory Coast

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast – The West African central bank said Thursday it had shut down its Ivory Coast offices after they were seized by the incumbent leader clinging to power in a bid to maintain his access to state coffers.

Forces loyal to Laurent Gbagbo seized the regional bank's Abidjan headquarters on Wednesday, several days after a Gbagbo ally was forced to resign amid accusations he was continuing to allow Gbagbo to take out money even after he was officially cut off.

The bank and the international community recognize Gbagbo's rival, Alassane Ouattara, as the winner of the presidential runoff election held about two months ago. Some say Gbagbo has been able to withdraw tens of millions of dollars in recent weeks to keep his government functioning and civil servants paid.

In a statement released Thursday, the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), protested Gbagbo's decision to take over its operations in Ivory Coast, calling the move "a flagrant violation of international agreements."

The bank ordered all its offices in the country closed until further notice.

Soldiers and military police surrounded the bank's Abidjan headquarters on Wednesday. Local press reports said that safes at the bank were opened and that the cash stores on the premises were seized, though these accounts could not be independently verified.

While bank employees were ordered to report to work on Thursday, computer networks with the outside had been cut, preventing Gbagbo's allies from being able to access funds, local press reports said.

"In the coming days, if the central bank remains closed, the commercial banks will not be able to operate," said Ouattara's acting finance minister Patrick Achi. "This will paralyze the economic activity in the country," he said.

The Dakar, Senegal-based regional bank formally recognized Ouattara as president in late December and ordered that Gbagbo's access to state coffers be cut off. Gbagbo, however, continued to withdraw funds from state accounts until the bank's governor, a close Gbagbo ally, was forced to resign last weekend.

Achi says that in the interim, Gbagbo was able to withdraw 57 billion francs ($120 million) illegitimately to keep his government functioning.

Gbagbo then had the bank's Ivorian offices seized, but it appears that the move was largely symbolic because Achi says there is not a significant amount of money on the premises.

Ouattara, a former BCEAO and International Monetary Fund official, ordered a one-month moratorium on cocoa exports earlier this week, attempting to cut Gbagbo off from another important source of revenue in the world's largest cocoa producer.

The two measures taken together strike a blow to Gbagbo's ability to stay in power about two months after he was declared the loser of the presidential election by the electoral commission and the United Nations.

The constitutional council later overturned those results by invalidating more than half a million votes in Ouattara strongholds in the north and proclaimed Gbagbo the winner.

Both men have set up governments in the meantime, and despite Ouattara's international support, he has been unable to wrest control of the country from Gbagbo, who continues to control the army and security forces.

The West African bloc of states known as ECOWAS has threatened military invasion to oust Gbagbo if negotiations fail, though several countries have since expressed reservations about using force and no deadline has been set.

Ouattara's camp hopes that a financial squeeze could prevent Gbagbo from being able to pay civil servants and army salaries, provoking a mass defection so that such a military operation would not be needed.

Feds: Palin hacker too well-off for halfway house

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – A top federal official is explaining why prison instead of a halfway house was a better place for a former Tennessee student convicted of hacking Sarah Palin's private e-mail account.

A judge had recommended that David Kernell serve his one-year sentence at a Knoxville halfway house. But the U.S. Bureau of Prisons instead sent Kernell to a minimum-security prison in Kentucky.

The Knoxville News Sentinel reports that Bureau of Prisons chief Jose Santana wrote to U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Phillips to explain the decision.

Santana said the halfway house space is needed for inmates who have limited skills, resources and community support. He said that Kernell has three years of college and the support of his family.

Kernell's lawyer says the explanation is lacking.

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Information from: The Knoxville News Sentinel,