Larry E. Moore of Franklin, Tenn., former chief financial officer of the Maury Regional Hospital System in Columbia, Tenn., has been named the new chief financial officer (CFO) of Blue Mountain Health System.

Blue Mountain Health System operates the Gnaden Huetten Campus in Lehighton and the Palmerton Campus, which is the former Palmerton Hospital.Moore, a native of Kentucky, is also the former director of finance of the University of Kentucky Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky. His work career spans 30 years at the University of Kentucky Hospital, including five years as associate hospital administrator and director of finance. Then he went to the Tennessee medical facility where he was employed for the past five years.He said he was attracted to Blue Mountain Health System because, "I had this goal that I wanted to be chief financial officer back in the 70s, when I saw health care wa going to be my career path."His family will continue to live in Tennessee because his wife is a registered nurse there and they still own their home in Franklin.Moore, however, has moved to Palmerton.Murray Regional Hospital System is a small, three-hospital facility about 70 miles southwest of Nashville. He said taking the position there "was my first step to achieving the goal of becoming a CFO."He said while at Murray, he looked at other potential employment opportunities, "then this opportunity came on the radar screen. I have friends in the Lehigh Valley and they always talked about how wonderful this area is."He and his wife, Lisa, have four children. Three other family members are involved in health care. In addition to his wife, one daughter manages a plastic surgery practice while another works for a laboratory service.Regarding Blue Mountain Health System, he said, "My biggest challenge is capital capacity. This is the biggest challenge that faces every facility. Capital must grow in order to have the financial resources to meet our mission."Ways for this to happen, he explained, are price related and growth."We must increase our market share," he said.Moore feels that when the economy improves, growth will occur at Blue Mountain Health System.He succeeds David Plaviak, who left in December 2008 for another position.