The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

DAYTON - As the Columbia County Health System prepares to say goodbye to its CEO Charlie Button on May 9, it is making progress on finding his successor.

About one month ago, Button announced he was moving on to take a new job at Star Valley Medical Center in Afton, Wyo.

And when Button leaves next week, Jon Smiley, a former hospital CEO from Sunnyside, will fill in as the interim CEO until Button's replacement arrives, said health system board member Lisa Naylor. Smiley was appointed as the interim CEO in April.

In addition to naming who will take the reins in the interim, the health system's board has put together a selection committee, comprised of board, staff and community members, that has already met and is working on getting to know one another. Those on the selection committee are board members Colleen Sproul and Lisa Naylor, staff members Tiffani Smith and Becka Thompson, and community members Robbie Johnson, of Waitsburg, Paul Hendrickson, of Dayton, and Sharon Shantie, of Starbuck.

At the selection committee's meeting last Thursday, it made a list of what qualities each member will be looking for in a new CEO. It will be the committee's job to recommend the finalists and the best person for the job to the health system's board. Sproul said she was happy to hear that the committee's desired qualities matched those qualities the board would like to see in a new CEO.

"Everybody was very positive," Naylor said. "They had some concerns, but they want to be there and see the (district) grow."

The health district will be taking applications for the position until the end of May, and the sheer volume of resumes the committee will review is a bit overwhelming, Johnson said.

Last Thursday, the system had already received about 20 applications. During the last search for a CEO, Johnson said the health system received about 75 to 100 applications and they are certainly on track to receive that many this time around.

Nevertheless, Johnson said he and the other committee members are just happy to provide their "unique perspectives."

"We've got a gem here in the hospital district," he said. "And we have a fair amount of commonality in wanting someone who has strong community (involvement)."

Sproul said Smiley will help make recommendations on the resumes to the committee on whether the applicant is qualified for the position. The committee will look at the resumes and assign a number to the resume based on a points system to whittle the number down to about five finalists, she said.

Then, the finalists will go through phone interviews during which they'll answer a set list of questions. The answers the candidates provide will ultimately guide the committee and the board on their choices, Sproul said.

The next meeting of the selection committee will be Wednesday, May 30, at 4:30 p.m.