Joe DeSchryver, CEO of Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose, Calif., submitted his resignation March 2, more than a month after county officials sanctioned the hospital because it broke COVID-19 vaccine protocol, a spokesperson confirmed to Becker's Hospital Review.
Antonio Castelan, a spokesperson for the hospital's parent company, Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare, said Mr. DeSchryver resigned to pursue career advancement opportunities outside of HCA Healthcare.
"We are grateful for his leadership at Good Samaritan Hospital over the past four years and the remarkable job he has done, including the intense past year marked by COVID-19," Mr. Castelan said in a prepared statement.
In an email obtained by San Jose Spotlight, Mr. DeSchryver told employees: "It has been an honor to serve as your leader for the past four years, including the most challenging year in healthcare. Over the next coming weeks, I look forward to connecting with you all as I say farewell. It has been a pleasure and honor to serve the Good Samaritan community. My family and I will forever be indebted to the organization for this opportunity."
Mr. DeSchryver became CEO of Good Samaritan Hospital in January 2017, after serving as CEO of Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center in San Luis Obispo, Calif., part of Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare.
During his tenure, Good Samaritan Hospital cared for COVID-19 patients and worked with the CDC to set clinical COVID-19 standards and protocols, according to HCA Healthcare. The company also credited him with overseeing the hospital's cardiac, stroke and neonatal intensive care unit programs, as well as renovation and expansion projects, and leading the hospital as it received recognition from Healthgrades for quality.
Mr. DeSchryver's resignation comes after Santa Clara County in January barred Good Samaritan Hospital from receiving COVID-19 vaccines beyond the second doses needed to complete vaccination of people who already received a first vaccine dose, after the hospital offered teachers and staff of a local school district shots ahead of higher-priority groups. The hospital closed its COVID-19 vaccine clinic in February.
Mr. Castelan said Mr. DeSchryver will stay at Good Samaritan Hospital over the next few months as a search for a new CEO is conducted.
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