Firm Places Its President on a Leave : Management: Abbey Healthcare terms action a ‘request’ but concedes the executive has little say in decision. Pressures from family illnesses sparked decision, company says.

Abbey Healthcare Group Inc. said Wednesday that it has asked its president to step down and “take a leave of absence,” marking the second time this year that the home health care company has pushed out its second-in-command.

Abbey said it removed Jerilyn P. Asher at least partly because of “personal pressures and the prolonged illnesses” in her family.

Asher has a daughter who was hospitalized recently with complications of spina bifida, a congenital, inoperable spinal condition. Also, Asher’s mother is seriously ill in a Florida nursing home.

Asher, however, apparently never asked for a leave of absence and never asked to step down, the company acknowledged.

“It reached a point where the board feels a leave of absence is best for all considered,” said Richard J. Rapp, Abbey’s chief financial officer. “She may not have realized that this was an option.”

Company spokeswoman Susan Turkell said Abbey’s action is “just a request,” and that Asher has not responded yet, though Turkell acknowledged that Asher may have no choice but to accept the board’s decision.

Asher could not be reached for comment.

Her departure should have little effect on the company, Rapp said. “We’ve been operating on all cylinders with our chief operating officer,” Steven Plochocki, he said. In addition, Chairman Timothy M. Aitken continues as chief executive.

No decision has been made on whether to replace Asher, Rapp said. She will remain on the board and will continue to be president of Abbey subsidiary Protocare Inc. in Waltham, Mass., through the end of this month. Rapp said Abbey has not decided whether she will continue with Protocare next year.

Asher remains at Protocare under an agreement that was part of Abbey’s acquisition of the company in March. As Abbey’s president since June, she had worked out of Boston, managing Protocare and working on developing new business for Abbey.

“The new business ventures she’s been working on will probably cease, though she’ll do some of them from her position at Protocare,” Rapp said.

Asher’s appointment last spring filled a position that had been vacant since February, when Abbey forced out Victor M.G. Chaltiel as president and chief executive. Chaltiel, who also had come from a company acquired by Abbey, has filed a wrongful-termination suit against Abbey.