Hospital board picks candidates once again
Published 1:30 am Friday, March 20, 2026
The WhidbeyHealth commissioners chose candidates to interview for a second vacant positions on the board for the public hospital district.
The board narrowed down the candidates to four people during the meeting on Thursday. The board received a total of five nominees for the seat.
The board selected Roxanne Shepherd, Marcy Shimada, Jack Schwab and Blaine Bartlett as their candidates to be interviewed.
Last month, the board members appointed Katherine Nelson, a health dispute arbitrator and attorney, during the first round of the process, which involves accepting nominees, narrowing down the field and then interviewing the candidates.
The five-person board has two vacancies following the resignations of James Golder and James Canby. The two men resigned from the board last month following a dramatic meeting at which they, along with board member Dr. Mark Borden, voted to fire CEO Nathan Staggs with little explanation. The majority of board members changed their decision after dozens of members of the medical staff came to the ongoing meeting in support of Staggs and criticized the three board members.
The board is holding a special meeting at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, March 24 to interview the candidates. The hospital commissioners will follow the same process in picking the new board member; they will go into an executive session to discuss the candidates and then make a decision during the public meeting.
Under state law, an appointed board member shall serve until the next election at which a member of the governing body normally would be elected. For the hospital commissioners, that would be the 2027 election.
