Leadership of WhidbeyHealth experienced major changes this month.

The elected board members of Whidbey Island’s public hospital district named a new CEO on Feb. 16, almost exactly a year after they fired the former CEO following revelations of financial problems.

The board appointed Nathan S. Staggs, who has more than 20 years of senior hospital and health care leadership experience. Staggs will transition for two weeks like Mike Layfield, who has served as interim CEO for the last year.

In addition, board members appointed Morgan Cooper earlier this month to replace longtime board member Grethe Cammermeyer, who decided to retire from the position. Once a popular radio DJ in Oak Harbor and currently a motorcycle enthusiast, Cooper has 25 years of experience in marketing leadership positions for hospitals and health care institutions. She is the owner of a company that provides “struggling bariatric programs an affordable resource to grow,” according to her application.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity for me to serve the community because I’ve been in health care for so long,” she said, adding that she hopes to help improve communication.

Cooper pointed out that there’s been significant changes in hospital leadership in the last couple of years. Gregory Richardson was appointed last fall to replace Commissioner Nancy Fey, who also retired. In the election a year before that, James Golder defeated incumbent Kurt Blankenship for a spot on the board.

Like Layfield, Staggs will answer to the board of commissioners while he’s technically an employee of HealthTechS3, a health care management firm that the board contracted with a year ago when the district was facing a precarious financial position.

Conor O’Brien, marketing manager for WhidbeyHealth, wrote in an email that Stagg’s salary has not been set. Under the hospital’s contract with HealthTech, the company’s annual fee in 2022 was $350,000 and the cost-of-living increase each year is capped at 6%. The CEO receives a separate management fee that includes salary and benefits at 30%.

O’Brien said he did not know if the salary will be disclosed because Stagg will be a HealthTech employee. The salary, however, will be releasable public information, as is every element of the public hospital’s budget.