Craig — After nearly two years of service, The Memorial Hospital Chief Executive Officer John Rossfeld announced his resignation Monday and will be leaving his post Dec. 11, according to a press release from TMH.

Rossfeld is leaving to take a position with Alecto Healthcare Services at one of two hospitals in southern California, according to the release. The move will allow him to be closer to two of his sons and their families.

“We appreciate John’s time here and what he’s done and we’re sorry to see him leave,” said TMH Board of Trustees Chair Forrest Luke.

Rossfeld’s tenure represented a growth period for the hospital as it found its footing after cycling through a series of short-term CEOs.

“Under John’s leadership, we saw growth in our market share, we recruited several providers and physicians, and we launched new service lines including cardiology and orthopedics,” Luke said in the press release.

Rossfeld said he wasn’t actively looking for other positions, but happened to get a call from an old boss right after his son, previously from Fort Collins, took a job in southern California. The timing was right.

Rossfeld’s future tenure at TMH was already in question due to the board’s consideration of whether or not to renew their contract with management company Quorum Health Resources. Rossfeld was a Quorum employee, and the contract is up June 30, 2016. If the board opted not to renew, they would have had to find a new CEO.

Hospital management consultant Kim Bird was hired in September to help the board evaluate its management options, and spoke with the board at a special meeting Tuesday to discuss Rossfeld’s resignation and interim leadership for the hospital. The board will have to decide who will fill the leadership gap until a permanent replacement can be found, and whether it wants to have Quorum bring in an interim CEO.

Luke said the board hopes to have a decision regarding how to provide interim leadership by Thursday, in time for their regular monthly meeting at 6 p.m.

TMH Chief of Marketing and Business Development Jennifer Riley was shocked and disappointed by the news Monday.

“We’ve all liked working with John,” Riley said. “He came into a really unsettled, tumultuous situation after we had an interim (CEO) for six months and another CEO for six months. Emotions were kind of raw and he kind of got everyone settled down and focused and we’ve accomplished a lot. He’s one of the smartest people I’ve ever worked with.”

Nonetheless, both Rossfeld and Luke expressed their confidence in the TMH staff, and Riley added that the hospital’s recent growth and financial stability will make it an attractive opportunity to high-quality CEOs.

“I think people kind of underestimate how good a hospital it is. The care is as good as any place I’ve been, and that includes the LA area and Salt Lake City,” Rossfeld said. “This is a great group of people… They’re very focused on and dedicated to providing great patient care. I think what we need for the community to know and look at is they’ve got a great resource here.”

Rossfeld added that he hopes to see Craig continue the momentum its built to diversify its economy.

Contact Lauren Blair at 970-875-1794 or lblair@CraigDailyPress.com.