Seventeen hospital and health system CEO exits, including resignations, retirements and terminations, were reported by Becker's in September and October. The exits span across the U.S., from California to Wisconsin:
California
Conrado Bárzaga, MD, suddenly exited his role as CEO of Palm Springs, Calif.-based Desert Healthcare District & Foundation. Chris Christensen, the system's chief administration officer, was named interim CEO.
Craig Leach will retire as CEO of Torrance (Calif.) Memorial Medical Center on Oct. 31. Keith Hobbs has served as the hospital's president since February and will become its CEO Nov. 1.
Idaho
Odette Bolano, BSN, CEO of Trinity Health's West Region and president of Boise, Idaho-based Saint Alphonsus Health System, will retire in June. A search for her successor will begin in January.
Illinois
Brenda Wolf is retiring as president and CEO of La Rabida Children's Hospital in Chicago. Ms. Wolf has served the organization for 35 years.
Israel Rocha, CEO of Chicago-based Cook County Health, will leave his role Dec. 1. Mr. Rocha is pursuing "a new professional opportunity," according to an Oct. 27 news release shared with Becker's.
Iowa
Clay Holderman left the CEO role at West Des Moines, Iowa-based UnityPoint Health after UnityPoint publicly called off a planned merger with Albuquerque, N.M.-based Presbyterian Health Services. Scott Kizer, former chief legal officer of UnityPoint, took the helm.
Kansas
Jeff Bowman, CEO of Arkansas City-based SCK Health since 2018, is leaving the role for health reasons. He is stepping down on Dec. 15.
Louisiana
Emily Sedgwick, MD, is no longer president and CEO of University Medical Center New Orleans, part of LCMC Health. John Nickens IV has been selected as interim CEO of the hospital.
Michigan
Matt Wille will leave his position as president and CEO of Munson Medical Center in Traverse City, Mich., to become COO of Neenah, Wis.-based ThedaCare. The departure comes as Milwaukee-based Froedtert and ThedaCare have signed a definitive agreement to merge into an 18-hospital system.
Gar Atchison plans to step down from his role as market president of UP Health System and CEO of UPHS-Marquette (Mich.) in late November. Mr. Atchison will depart the health system to move back to his hometown of Petoskey, Mich., to be closer to family, UPHS said in an Oct. 26 news release. He has also accepted a new position as president and CEO of Petoskey-based McLaren Northern Michigan.
New York
Hal Paz, MD, left his role as CEO of Stony Brook (N.Y.) Medicine and executive vice president for health sciences at Stony Brook University. William Wertheim, MD, who has stepped into the role of interim executive vice president of Stony Brook Medicine, is replacing Dr. Paz temporarily.
LaRay Brown was fired as CEO of One Brooklyn Health in New York City. Ms. Brown was appointed to the helm of One Brooklyn Health in July 2017.
Oklahoma
Krista Roberts is retiring as CEO of St. Mary's Regional Medical Center in Enid, Okla. Ms. Roberts has served the hospital in various roles for more than 30 years.
South Carolina
Christina Oh is leaving her role as president and CEO of Charleston, S.C.-based Trident Health to become president of Sutter Health's Greater San Francisco market. Ms. Oh's last day with Trident Health is Nov. 30. A search is ongoing for Trident Health's next leader.
Tennessee
Thomas Kidd, CEO of Macon County General Hospital in Lafayette, Tenn., plans to retire in January. Mr. Kidd has been with the hospital since 2004, originally serving as its CFO. He was promoted to the helm in 2017.
Texas
Debra Feigin Sukin, PhD, is leaving her role as executive vice president at Houston Methodist and CEO of Houston Methodist The Woodlands (Texas) Hospital. She accepted a new job as president of Houston-based Texas Children's.
Wisconsin
Peggy Troy, MSN, RN, plans to retire as president and CEO of Milwaukee-based Children's Wisconsin by the end of December 2024. The search for the next leader of Children's Wisconsin is expected to be complete next year.