Happy trails, Mr. Seraphine.

On Wednesday, news began spreading that Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital CEO Jeff Seraphine will soon be heading south to take the reins of a multi-hospital position with LCRH owner LifePoint.

That sentiment was confirmed by Seraphine, and he said he’s sad to leave a city he’s come to call home since moving to the area in 2003.

“It was the best thing for our family,” Seraphine said. “It was an opportunity, and we’re grateful for it, but we hate leaving the place that we love.”

Seraphine is moving his family to the Nashville area in the beginning of 2010 — after his children finish up the current semester. From there, he’ll oversee the operations of several hospitals in the region owned by LifePoint, including LCRH, as Chief Operating Officer of the Delta Division. Seraphine said his responsibilities will also include overseeing the potential acquisitions of additional hospitals into the LifePoint network and the hospitals’ transitions into the network.

Those added responsibilities came up in July of this year, and Seraphine said he worked hard to carry out his duties from Somerset — all while remaining CEO of LCRH.

But the time has come for a change.

“We’re getting to the point where I can’t just do both,” Seraphine said.

In the six years since Seraphine and his family have lived in the area, they’ve taken strong roots in the community. Seraphine and his wife of 16 years, Christi, are active members of their church communities, and they’re heavily involved in their three oldest children’s activities at Somerset Christian School.

The couple have five children — Jeffrey, William Dane, Josi Grace, Shaw James and Graham Wesley.

Seraphine has also been active in business, civic, and community organizations. He has served on the boards of directors for the YMCA and United Way of South Central Kentucky and is currently first vice-president of the Somerset-Pulaski County Chamber of Commerce.

Seraphine also served for two years as Chair of the March of Dimes Cardinal Division WalkAmerica, and was the Boy Scouts of America Chair for the Sixth Annual Hal Rogers Leadership Award Dinner this year.

LCRH has undergone several transitions since Seraphine took the lead at LCRH. The hospital stands as one of Pulaski County’s largest employers with around 1,200 employees and an annual payroll of $65 million.

The site went tobacco free nearly three years ago, and the hospital underwent an expansion and is soon to undergo a second expansion of 45 beds that will bring the number of beds in the facility to 304.

According to information provided by LCRH Director of Marketing and Community Relations Susan Ramsey Wilson, under Seraphine’s leadership, satisfaction surveys have shown marked improvement, with employee satisfaction jumping to the top quartile of the company, “far exceeding national averages.”

But Seraphine means more to the hospital’s patients and staff, and to Somerset, than that.

“We feel very fortunate to have ad him as our CEO over the last six years,” said Wilson. “He’s accomplished so much, not just in brick and mortar and technology ... so much on a personal level, to pull our team members together and increase the hospital’s standing in the community, because he’s a good man.”

But what LCRH may have lost in a CEO, Wilson said a division of hospitals will gain in a leader.

“He has the opportunity to improve other hospitals in the same way he’s improved us,” Wilson said. “In the big picture, a lot of people will gain.”

But that doesn’t make it any easier for Seraphine or his employees.

“This is a hard thing for our family,” Seraphine said. “We feel that the door the Lord has opened for us, we’ll walk through.

“We’ll do it, but it’s hard,” he added.

Seraphine’s career in hospital administration began some time before he joined the LifePoint network some 11 years ago. Born in Louisville, Seraphine graduated from the University of Kentucky, with a BBA in marketing and a master’s degree in Health Administration.

Seraphine’s experience began with administrative positions as assistant administrator of the 101-bed Raulerson Hospital in Okeechobee, Fla. and vice-president and chief operating officer of a large multi-service facility at the 339-bed Winter Park Memorial Hospital in Winter Park, Fla.

In 1998, Seraphine joined LifePoint Hospitals as CEO of Georgetown Community Hospital. In 2000, he was promoted to market CEO, with added responsibility for Bluegrass Community Hospital. According to Wilson, in 2003, Georgetown Community Hospital was named as a Solucient TOP 100 Hospital in America for Clinical and Operational Excellence under his leadership.

“Georgetown also achieved the position of top-rated facility in the LifePoint organization in patient, employee, physician, and community satisfaction surveys during his tenure,” stated a press release from Wilson.

Seraphine is actively involved in the Kentucky Hospital Association, has served on the Board of Trustees since 2002, and has been a member of the Executive Committee and the Certificate of Need Committee. He also served on the Legislative Committee, serving as Chair from 2005–2008. Seraphine is also a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and was named the Regent’s Award Winner in 2007.

He has also received numerous awards from LifePoint Hospitals.

In Seraphine’s absence, LCRH will begin seeking out a new CEO to take the reins.

But both Seraphine and Wilson emphasized that he won’t stay away for good. His professional duties will bring him to the area “on a regular basis,” Wilson said, and Seraphine, who said he specifically asked to oversee LCRH operations, said there are too many connections to Somerset for the family to never come back.

“We’ll spend a lot of time here in Somerset,” he said.

And who knows? Some day, the Seraphines may come back to the area — perhaps to stay for good.

“You never know where the Lord takes you, and if he brings us here, we’ll be happy to be here,” he said.