QUINCY — Mehdi Merred left Quincy Thursday to spend 10 days visiting his family in France.

Merred, who is Quincy Valley Medical Center's administrator, tries to see his family at least once each year, whether they travel to America or he travels to them. But he has no plans to leave Quincy.

"I like the small-town atmosphere," he said.

Merred joined the medical center nearly a year ago, relocating from Montana to Washington after accepting the position. He has lived in the United States for the past 13 years. The last time he visited France was four years ago.

He said he enjoys living in Quincy with his wife and three children. The town is small but close to big-city amenities.

The community supports him both at work and socially, he said.

"I sure enjoy the job very much," he said.

Merred is accustomed to seeing small towns that are dying, while Quincy is experiencing growth and maintaining its agricultural industry, he said. A new hospital is going to be needed to handle the growth and he wants to see it built, he said.

Just maintaining current operations is going to cost $2.3 million to $3 million in renovations, and Merred said he would rather spend the money on future needs.

"The first step to me is really financial stability," Merred said.

He is taking steps to make the hospital a profitable operation and increase its fiscal responsibility.

Hospital Board Chair Don Condit said the board spent eight months searching for a new administrator. The board was excited about Merred's ideas, his youthfulness and his fearlessness about trying different things, Condit said.

"The hospital was looking for someone with some vision and a person who wasn't afraid to try new ideas," he said.

Merred was interested in becoming involved with the community, another positive trait. In addition, he had a successful track record of transforming hospitals into profitable facilities, which the hospital wanted, Condit said.

This is the third time in Merred's career as a hospital administrator.