Whitman hospital CEO resigns after 18 months

Gazette Reporter

After 18 months on the job, Whitman Hospital CEO David Womack is resigning to take an administrative position with a medical chain in California.

“I have a lot of mixed emotions. Julie and I were very happy here,” Womack said.

Womack was offered a job in Bakersfield, Calif., the same city where their daughter and her family resides.

Womack’s last day at Whitman will be May 6. The hospital board was set to accept his letter of resignation at a board meeting Wednesday.

The board hopes to have an interim director in place by the time Womack departs, according to hospital board chairman John Perry.

The hospital board was also expecting to consider options for an interim administrator in executive session at its board meeting Wednesday, Perry said.

Thomas Corley, the chief operating officer of Providence Health Care, which has a management contract with Whitman Hospital, gave the board information about interim administrator possibilities at that session.

“He will inform us in executive session with information about an interim CEO,” Perry said.

Perry said board members realize the May 6 date is fast approaching, but the board hopes to take its time filling the long-term, permanent CEO position.

“I will say we will take as long as necessary to find the quality person we want to be our CEO,” Perry said.

Perry pointed out the board was very pleased with the work Womack had been doing and his resignation came as a surprise to all involved.

“He was doing an excellent job. But you know things happen and we are rolling with the punches.”

Womack said a perfect storm of events led to the decision to sell their home and move to California. Womack and his wife Julie have a daughter who lives with her husband and child in Bakersfield.

Several months ago, Womack got a call from Kaiser Permanente, a giant medical chain with branches in several states.

Their Kern County branch in Bakersfield, called the Kern County Market Area, saw Womack’s business profile online at LinkedIn.com. A recruiter called Womack.

“[They said] ‘We’ve got this job. We think it might be a good fit,” Womack told the Gazette. With the job offer coming from the very town where his daughter resides, Womack said it was an offer he and his wife couldn’t refuse.

Womack’s experience in the medical industry in the military and as a hospital CEO were factors which the recruiter sought.

He accepted the position of executive director of the Kern County Branch in late March.

“I was not seeking a new position; this opportunity arose out of the blue. We intended to stay for a long time, but I simply could not ignore this opportunity to live close to family,” Womack said in a written statement. His new position begins May 16.

As executive director at the branch in Bakersfield, Womack said some of his job duties will be very comparable to those he has performed at Whitman Hospital, such as strategic planning about improving people’s health and ensuring financial profitability.

Julie Womack became involved with the city and was inducted as the new president of the Colfax Chamber of Commerce Jan. 29.

Last year, she was diagnosed with cancer. During that time, Womack said their church warmly supported them with prayer and practical help.

“Julie was seriously ill for several months last year. The community and church rallied around us. We felt very loved and taken care of,” Womack said.

The Womacks purchased a house in Hauser’s Addition in Colfax. Womack added they plan to find temporary housing in Bakersfield before purchasing a house there.