Elizabeth Woodyard (KFSK file photo)
The chief executive officer of the Petersburg Medical Center plans to retire at the end of next June.
Liz Woodyard has been CEO of the publically-owned hospital since 2011. She’s a registered nurse and is originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota and calls her decision exciting, but scary.
“I’ve been in the health care field for 44 years and have loved every minute of it,” Woodyard said. “But I’m 65 and I’ll be 66 by the time I retire so I think it’s probably time to explore new adventures and have some new opportunities.”
Woodyard sent an email to staff announcing her decision. She listed a strong staff and financial turnaround among her accomplishments at PMC.
“I think that we have excellent staff and that we’ve hired really good people,” she said. “I’m really pleased that we have the physicians that we have. We have a full complimentary rehab department now. We just hired a speech therapist and an occupational therapist so I’m really pleased that we have a good rehab department. I’m really pleased too that our financial situation is stable and that we are fiscally sound and doing well and operationally we’re running smooth.”
Prior to her time at PMC, Woodyard also worked as chief nursing officer at a Fairbanks hospital and was CEO at a hospital in northern California.
Her last day on the job is June 29th, 2018. Her email said the board will begin the process of recruiting for a new CEO over the next few months. Woodyard said she will work with the board to ensure a smooth transition. She said the board and the next CEO will be faced with some tough decisions. Among them are whether to remodel or replace the aging medical center building.
Woodyard said she plans to stay in Petersburg and may look for volunteer opportunities or part time jobs to keep busy after leaving the medical center.
The CEO leads a staff of around 116 employees. PMC has an outpatient clinic, long term care wing, therapy department, lab and emergency room.
