WHIDBEY: Hospital board votes to change president
Jessie Stensland reports from the Whidbey Island Public Hospital District board meeting of Thu., Nov. 20, 2025 for the Whidbey News-Times. Read the whole story.
Summary by Perplexity AI
At a Nov. 20 meeting, WhidbeyHealth’s elected officials voted to remove James Golder as board president, with three members supporting the motion and two abstaining, then unanimously elected Marion Jouas as the new president. CEO Nathan Staggs praised Golder’s leadership and said Jouas’ election signaled strong governance. Golder described his departure as mutual and said he would remain on the board. The vote followed a closed executive session called for “personnel and legal” reasons, which raised Open Public Meetings Act questions about how specifically such sessions must be announced. Board member Greg Richardson cited concerns about a member’s “overreach” and emphasized confidence in Jouas.
They Said It
“We appreciate the leadership that James Golder provided during his time as president of the board,” according to [a statement by WhidbeyHealth CEO Nathan Staggs]. “The board’s decision to elect Marion Jouas reflects their commitment to ensuring strong governance and guidance for WhidbeyHealth. I look forward to working closely with Ms. Jouas in her new role as we continue to strengthen health care access and services for our community.”
In an interview, Golder said his leaving the position of president was a mutual decision and that he has complete confidence in Jouas. He said he has no plans for leaving the board.
Board member Greg Richardson, who’s moving to Portugal this week, explained in an interview that Staggs and other members of the administration expressed concerns about a board member’s “overreach” into administrative matters. Under the structure of the hospital leadership, the CEO is the board’s only employee and board members are not supposed to give instructions to employees, especially not outside of board meetings.
In addition, Richardson said it was important to have the matter of setting a new board president settled before the upcoming changes in the board. Two doctors, Mark Borden and Kirk Gasper, were elected to the board in November.
Richardson also expressed his complete confidence in Jouas and was optimistic about the future of the hospital.
