David Lopez Named Interim CEO

 

David S. Lopez, Interim President and CEO

Chief Operating Officer David S. Lopez has been named interim head of the Hospital District following the resignation of President and CEO John A. Guest. 

The HCHD Board of Managers made their decision March 12 during a special meeting to discuss Guest's resignation. He and the Board agreed that March 12 would be his last day at work. 

Lopez has been COO since July 2000. He held the position of President and CEO of Memorial Medical Center in Corpus Christi for five years. He has 27 years of healthcare experience. 

“I'm excited about the opportunity and the potential of this organization,” Lopez said. “The commitment of our staff towards achieving our goals and objectives has been the reason for the Hospital District's success and is critical to our future endeavors.” 

He credits Guest with a lot of the stability, financial and fiscal, now enjoyed by HCHD. 

“We are unequivocally much better off now than we were four years ago because of John Guest,” he said. “He's a major reason for our current success and our continued success. As we continue our role of providing quality patient care, we're going to need the support of our employees, the community, our physicians, the medical schools and all our partners.” 

He said the Hospital District now has a solid strategic plan to get us to 2015.  

Guest, who was hired by HCHD in March 2000, was selected after an extensive search process. He held a similar CEO position in San Antonio for the Bexar County Hospital District. 

“I have enjoyed working with John the four years he was CEO. He brought us forward through tough times and we appreciate his energy and willingness to put business strategies into the organization,” said Mary Spinks, Board Chair. “We wish him all the best in his future endeavors. With David Lopez serving as interim CEO, I believe we will have a smooth transition.” 

Spinks said the Board will next form a committee and select a firm to do an extensive candidate search. She expects the process to last at least six months. 

Guest submitted his letter of resignation on March 8, hours after the conclusion of an earlier special meeting in which the Board adopted the HCHD FY 2004-05 operating budget and failed to decided on land deals for LBJ Hospital's future expansion.  

In the March 12 meeting, the Board also unanimously approved moving forward on land acquisition efforts for the expansion of LBJ.