The CEO and chief nursing officer at Framingham, Mass.-based MetroWest Medical Center have stepped down after less than one year in their respective roles.
David Elgarico resigned as CEO to "return to Oregon to be with his family," according to a Jan. 25 email to staff obtained by Becker's. He assumed the role in July after serving three years as CEO of Quorum Health's McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center, based in Springfield, Ore.
John Whitlock, CFO of Worcester, Mass.-based Saint Vincent Hospital and Tenet's Massachusetts market, will serve as interim CEO. He is "well poised to manage operations at MetroWest" with 30 years of healthcare leadership experience, Carolyn Jackson, CEO of Saint Vincent and Tenet's Massachusetts market, wrote in the email.
MetroWest's chief nursing officer, Daniel Wright, BSN, RN, also resigned this month. He joined the health system on May 31 after serving as system chief nursing officer for Elmira, N.Y.-based Arnot Health, according to a news release announcing his appointment.
Naomi Seymour, MSN, was named interim chief nursing officer. She currently serves as assistant chief nursing officer for MetroWest's sister facility in Florida, according to the email from Ms. Jackson.
The health system has been short-staffed lately, leading to a series of ambulance diversions in December. Over Christmas weekend, some labor and delivery shifts had no registered nurses on staff, leading one nurse to file an anonymous complaint with the Department of Public Health.
MetroWest Medical Center is a 269-bed system composed of two campuses — one in Framingham and one in Natick, Mass. — and is the largest healthcare provider between Boston and Worcester, Mass., the state's second-largest city, according to its LinkedIn page. The system is owned by Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare.