Spencer Hospital President Announces Retirement Plans

posted on Friday, February 17, 2023 in General

Spencer Hospital president Bill Bumgarner announced on Thursday that he will be retiring on December 29 of this year.

“I'll be celebrating my 65th birthday in October and will have served 41 years in hospital leadership and over 14 years as Spencer Hospital’s president,” Bumgarner shared.  “My wife Karen and I have agreed the time has come to enjoy the next phase of our life together.”

Hospital board chair Julie Christensen expressed appreciation for Bumgarner’s service and leadership as hospital president.

“Through Bill’s tenure as president of Spencer Hospital, services, technology and facilities have been enhanced to meet the wide-ranging healthcare needs of the communities the hospital serves,” Christensen said. “In addition, the Spencer medical community has worked collaboratively to advance both its service models and business arrangements to adapt to a changing healthcare industry.”

To promote a smooth transition to a new hospital president, Bumgarner advised board leadership of his retirement plans in the summer of 2022.  Christensen said the advanced notice has provided an opportunity to plan for an efficient recruitment process. 

“An initial search committee has been formed to include hospital trustees Bruce Nystrom and myself; as well as board advisory members Neal Conover, John Cotton and Larry Harden.  As the recruitment and selection process moves forward, medical staff and community members will be added to the committee,” Christensen explained.

“The search committee has retained the executive search firm Witt Kieffer to provide professional guidance to the recruitment and selection process. This is the same firm that was used when Bill was hired in 2009.  Witt Kieffer is a well-respected organization that's active on as national basis and has completed hospital president searches in Iowa and the Midwest.”

She added that the hospital president search will be conducted on a national basis.  The next step in the process will entail Witt Kieffer representatives visiting Spencer.  They will meet with a range of stakeholders and compile the information needed to develop a candidate profile on which to focus the search process.

“Final candidates - who will formally interview for the hospital president position - will be announced publicly in keeping with the Board of Trustee's responsibility to the community as a public hospital,” Christensen noted. “It's our intent to have a new hospital president in place in close proximity to Bill's retirement at the end of the calendar year.  We'll continue to provide updates to the public as significant events in the process occur.”

Bumgarner said his work is not finished. “Over the next 10 months, I'll work diligently with the Spencer Hospital healthcare team to advance progress on the important priorities before us.  In addition, I'll offer my full support to a successful transition to a new president,” he commented.

“It's been a highlight of my career to serve Spencer Hospital during a time of significant change and challenge,” Bumgarner remarked. “Any progress achieved is attributable to the talents and blessings of our dedicated healthcare team; a collaborative medical staff; a committed leadership team; a supportive Board; giving volunteers and a generous community.”