Ex-Höchst becomes head of clinic at the Northwest Hospital
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The former managing director of the Höchst Clinic of Others takes over the management of two Frankfurt hospitals. The step comes spontaneously, as there were some inconsistencies.
Frankfurt – It is a personality that should cause a stir: Ralph Freiherr von Follenius BECOMES the new director of the Hospital zum Heiligen Geist Foundation on January 1, 2022 and thus managing director of both the Northwest Hospital and the Hospital zum Heiligen Geist. “I’m looking forward to it. It’s a beautiful, but also a demanding task,” said von Follenius when asked by this newspaper.
Now the 63-year-old is no stranger to Frankfurt. It was almost eleven years ago that the hospital manager had to work as head of the city clinic in his hut. He came in 2007 as a bearer of hope who was supposed to renovate the house economically. The numerical languages for him, but then after three and a half years, the then head of the health department, Manuela Rottmann (Greens), surprisingly parted ways with her clinic manager, on the “best of terms”, as it was called. At that time there was a lot of speculation about Follenius’ departure, at the moment it is said to have been about quarrels within the clinic management, but also about differences between Rottmann and von Follenius.
Now the 63-year-old, who lives in Neu-Isenburg, is returning to Frankfurt for work – as managing director of two hospitals (and other subsidiaries of the Hospital zum Heiligen Geist foundation) that are closely linked to the city through the complex foundation structure. The health department head of the city of Frankfurt is – qua office – also major of the Foundation Hospital for the Holy Spirit and watches in this function over the assets of the foundation.
Frankfurt’s health department head: “He is a crisis-tested manager”
“The city wouldn’t use me now if it wasn’t convinced of it,” says von Follenius calmly, looking back at the past. “The separation back then was two weeks before the local elections, so other issues played a role.”
Health director Stefan Majer (Greens), Rottmann’s successor in office, does not want to know anything about the former quarrels anyway. “I think the conflict at the time deserved a different assessment,” he says. “Mr. von Follenius is a crisis-tested hospital manager”, and that’s exactly what is needed in view of the current challenges. The financial situation of hospitals nationwide is tense, also, but not only, because of the corona pandemic. Von Follenius has “a lot of experience in stabilizing hospitals in difficult situations”. How difficult the current situation of the foundation hospitals Northwest and Holy Spirit is, did not want to provide any information.
Frankfurt Foundation has modernized its structures
After Rafaela Korte resigned as managing director of the Hospital zum Heiligen Geist foundation last year, the foundation and its daughter were temporarily managed by an external service provider whose contract expires at the end of the year. During this time, the foundation structures were modernized in order to better cope with the operational tasks.
As part of this modernization, a supervisory board was set up for the first time in September, including the chairman of the supervisory board Bernd Weber, his deputy Horst Franke, the works council chairman of the Northwest Hospital, Ruben Müller, the managing director of the Groß-Gerau district clinic, Erika Raab, and the head of the health department Majer. The newly created committee unanimously voted in favor of Follenius’ commitment, stressed Majer.
New boss will take employees away
The clinic manager is looking forward to his new role. It is true that the complicated structures are a challenge, so that is precisely his strength: to find tailor-made solutions for the respective structures. “Together with the employees,” emphasizes the 63-year-old. First of all, however, it is important to know the foundation and its companies.