Lawrence Memorial Hospital, 325 Maine St.

The Lawrence Memorial Hospital Board of Trustees plans to make a final nomination in late April for who will be the hospital’s new CEO.

A committee that was formed to hire the next CEO scheduled in-person interviews in April with three candidates, the board was told at its Wednesday meeting. The committee narrowed the pool of candidates down from the dozen that were being considered last month.

One candidate will visit Lawrence on April 6 and 7, another on April 14 and 15 and the last on April 18 and 19. During those visits, they’ll go through interviews, meet with community leaders and get to know Lawrence, said Rob Chestnut, who chairs the hiring committee.

Everyone who meets with the candidates will be asked to fill out a survey.

A special board meeting will be scheduled soon after the last candidate’s visit.

“I think we’re all wanting to decide pretty quickly,” said Cindy Yulich, chair of the board of trustees.

“And correctly,” board member John Ross added.

The new CEO will replace the longtime leader of LMH, Gene Meyer, who announced his retirement in August. Meyer’s last day will be May 31.

The board did not release the names or other information about the three finalists.

In other business:

• The board voted unanimously to retire 2006 bonds at a cost of approximately $46 million.

Joe Pedley, LMH Chief Financial Officer, said last month that the move would cut the hospital’s cash on hand by about one-third but would save approximately $2.5 million per year. It will take slightly more than three years to build back the cash on hand to what it is now.

With the payoff, the hospital will have less bond debt, about $12 to $15 million total, Pedley said. The hospital brings in about $20 million in cash each year. “It’s an excellent position to be in,” Meyer said.