Hospital seeks new CEO

LAKEWOOD RANCH — Lakewood Ranch Medical Center is without its longtime chief executive officer.
Hospital spokesperson Jennifer Bryan said Jim Wilson, who has served as the hospital’s CEO since 2008, resigned May 6.

“We do not anticipate the temporary vacancy to have any impact on day-to-day operations at Lakewood Ranch Medical Center,” Bryan said. “The administrative team presently in place at the hospital is fully prepared to address any issues with regard to patient, physician, employee and community needs.”

The hospital has started its search for a new CEO, but the timeline for filling the position “is difficult to predict,” Bryan said.

Linda Widra, Lakewood Ranch Medical Center’s chief operating officer, will oversee day-to-day operations in the interim.

Wilson declined to comment on his departure at this time.

Additionally, Lakewood Ranch Medical Center’s Board Chairwoman Cathy Layton resigned May 21. Layton, who served on the board for nine years, declined to say whether her departure was related to Wilson’s.

“I’m about to take over the chairmanship of Selby Gardens, which is a time-consuming and wonderful opportunity,” she said. “The board meetings for these two organizations overlap.”

Lakewood Ranch Medical Center and its sister hospital, Manatee Memorial, are members of the Manatee Healthcare System and subsidiaries of Universal Health Services Inc.

During Wilson’s five-year tenure at Lakewood Ranch Medical Center, Wilson worked diligently to build the hospital’s reputation and offerings for patients by bringing in cardiology, orthopedics, spine surgery and advanced cancer treatment. The medical center also partnered with Tidewell Hospice to open a hospice in-patient unit last June; it opened a pediatric unit in January.

Under Wilson’s leadership, Lakewood Ranch Medical also became the state’s first hospital to receive the heart-failure accreditation, and the facility was ranked as most consistently having the highest level of patient satisfaction out of more than 20 medical facilities in the Universal Health Services family.

Annual revenues grew from $53 million to about $72 million in 2012, as well.

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].