Central Health's board of managers voted Wednesday to hire a recruitment firm to aid in its national search for a new executive following President and CEO Patricia Young Brown's decision to leave the job at the end of the year.

Board members voted, 8-1, to enter into negotiation with B.E. Smith, an executive leadership placement company with headquarters in Lenexa, Kan., to assist the search process. The board approved a contract with the company not to exceed $100,000.

B.E. Smith focuses solely on the health care industry and has conducted more than 200 executive searches in Texas over the past two years, according to the company. The firm's experience includes work with Maricopa County Integrated Health System in Phoenix, Ariz., and Nashville General Hospital at Meharry in Tennessee.

Board member Kirk Kuykendall voted against the selection, having earlier said he preferred the firm Witt/Kieffer, one of the three companies that were considered. Kuykendall said his preference was due, in part, to the local connection of one of Witt/Kieffer's senior partners, who is based in Austin.

Young Brown said Oct. 5 she plans to retire from public service and leave her position at Travis County’s public health district at the end of 2016. She cited a desire to pursue other personal and professional interests and spend more time with her family.

With Young Brown leaving in about two months, Central Health will hire an interim CEO to lead the agency while a permanent executive is picked, board chairperson Katrina Daniel said.

"We will definitely have a transition period," Daniel said, adding that the length of the interim period should be minimized.

Central Health's board also voted Wednesday to create a three-member subcommittee to guide the search process and act as a point-of-contact for B.E. Smith. The subcommittee will also be responsible for developing a way to allow public comment in the process.

Young Brown was hired in 2005 and is the only person to hold the top spot at Central Health since the district’s creation through a 2004 voter referendum to provide better access to health care for low-income and uninsured Travis County residents.

Board members broached the possibly of a joint search with CommUnityCare, whose president and CEO, George Miller, announced his resignation earlier this month. Miller said he plans to move back to Ohio where his three children live.

CommUnityCare, a federally qualified health center created in 1970 through a partnership between Austin City Council and Travis County Commissioners Court, is affiliated with Central Health but both agencies have their own governing boards.

Daniel said CommUnityCare will make its own decision on its search process for Miller's replacement, but said having the same firm work with both agencies could be advantageous.

According to information B.E. Smith provided to Central Health, the company's fee for its placement services would be equal to 30 percent of the chosen candidate's first-year pay. But the company will decrease that fee to 28 percent if it also conducts the search for CommUnityCare.