By LINDA COMINS

Staff Writer

Ohio Valley Medical Center has reduced the size of its board of directors in preparation for Alecto Healthcare Services’ purchase of the hospital.

After an hour-long executive session Wednesday, the OVMC board held a brief public meeting to approve a resolution for reduction of the board and a motion to amend its bylaws.

Karin Janiszewski, director of marketing and public relations, said a three-member board will take the hospital through the closing process with Alecto. The new members are Wilbur S. Jones, Terry Lee and Kristine N. Molnar.

Both measures were approved unanimously. Voting in favor of the resolution and the motion were board members Michael Caruso, by proxy; the Rev. Darrell Cummings; Jones; James Kepner; Dr. Dante Marra; and James Squibb.

Jones cast a proxy vote for Caruso, who was out of town. Current board members Orphy Klempa, Molnar and Dr. Howard L. Shackelford also were absent Wednesday. Caruso is the president and CEO of Ohio Valley Health Services & Education Corp., the current parent company of OVMC and East Ohio Regional Hospital in Martins Ferry.

Alecto, based in Irvine, Calif., is in the process of buying both hospitals from OVHS&E. The sale is expected to be completed by the end of May.

The board meeting was conducted in OVMC’s former nurses’ residence, which is slated to be razed after Alecto’s purchase is finalized. The building housed the former Ohio Valley General Hospital School of Nursing from 1927 to 1988.