Saint Agnes CEO will retire amid management ‘regionalization.’ New CEO will be in Idaho
Saint Agnes Medical Center’s president and chief executive officer Nancy Holligsworth will retire at the end of this month amid a reorganization and will be replaced by a new CEO based in Idaho, according to a letter sent to employees and providers on Wednesday obtained by The Bee.
Hollingsworth’s last day as the top leader for the Fresno-area hospital will be May 26, according to the letter. David Spivey, who most recently served as interim president and CEO for St. Mary’s Health System in Athens, Georgia, will become Saint Agnes’ interim president and market leader.
Hollingsworth, the letter says, chose to retire amid a reorganization that will “streamline management and decision making, reduce administrative costs and improve overall operating performance.”
“Until her departure, Nancy is committed to providing leadership and guidance for an effective transition,” Benjamin R. Carter, executive vice president and chief operating officer at Trinity Health, said in the letter. “We sincerely thank Nancy for her many contributions over the years and for her unwavering commitment to meeting the needs of the patients and community she so passionately served.”
Trinity Health owns and operates Saint Agnes.
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, hospital across the nation are facing changes in patient volumes, staffing challenges with high-cost contracts and higher supply and pharmacy costs, Carter said in the letter. And Trinity Health is not immune to those challenges.
“Our Trinity Health ministries are working to address these same issues,” Carter said. “This environment requires us to be responsive to these changes for our ministries to remain viable and continue our Mission of caring for the many communities who depend on us.”
New structure will pair Fresno with Trinity Health hospitals in Idaho and Oregon
With that said, Trinity Health decided “to regionalize the California and Idaho-Oregon ministries.”
“By combining the strengths of Saint Agnes Health in Fresno, CA, and Saint Alphonsus Health System in Idaho-Oregon, we will be able to streamline management and decision making, reduce administrative costs and improve overall operating performance,” Carter said in the letter.
As part of the restructure, Odette Bolano, who currently serves as president and CEO of Saint Alphonsus, will become president and CEO of the new regional entity. However, the board of directors for each entity will remain separate, Carter said.
Hollingsworth served as the president and CEO for Saint Agnes since February 2011. Prior to that, she had served as chief operating officer and chief nursing officer.
Hollingsworth first joined Saint Agnes in the 1980s as an oncology nurse before serving as manager of patient resources for more than a decade.
Hollingsworth leaves ‘incredible legacy,’ board chair says
Retired Judge Robert Oliver, who is the chair of the Saint Agnes board, said in a memo sent to staff on Wednesday that he wanted to thank her for “her unwavering dedication and steadfast leadership.”
Oliver said Hollingsworth leaves an “incredible legacy... behind.”
Under Hollingsworth tenure as leader for the hospital, Oliver said, Saint Agnes implemented its first electronic heath record, completed the 6-story North Wing expansion, and grew from a stand-alone medical center to a health system that now has a medical foundation. The hospital now also has more than 20 primary, specialty and urgent care clinics, a health plan, joint ventures and a graduate medical education program, Oliver said.
“Who could have imagined, when she began her career as a new nurse at Saint Agnes more than 40 years ago, how her influence would help shape the future of heath care in the Central Valley,” Oliver told staff in his memo. “I know I am not alone in saying that she will be deeply missed, but her impact on Saint Agnes and our community will be felt for many years to come.”
Kelley Sanchez, a spokeswoman for Saint Agnes, described the changes as a “natural progression for Saint Agnes Health and Saint Alphonsus Health System” since several services have already been consolidated between the two entities. Some of the services that had already been consolidated include legal services, health informatics and human resources.
“This is the latest regionalization for Trinity Health, having successfully merged ministries in several regions, including Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa and New York,” Sanchez said in a statement.
