Second candidate appointed to hospital board

Published 1:30 am Saturday, March 28, 2026

A retired health care administrator is the newest member of the WhidbeyHealth board.

On Tuesday, the public hospital district board held a special meeting to interview four candidates for the open position. At the end of the meeting, the board members unanimously chose Marcy Shimada, who has 40 years of health care leadership experience.

“With 20 as the CEO of a Seattle-area medical group,” her biography on the board website states, “she gained a particular interest in primary care and community engagement as a means to drive health improvement. The medical group achieved recognition for both high-quality care and patient satisfaction. Her ability to build collaborative relationships benefited the medical group in their risk contracts. Her background also included assisting boards in solidifying their vision.”

Hospital Commissioner Dr. Kirk Gasper said Shimada will fill in “vulnerable areas” on the board by offering a viewpoint that may be missing. Dr. Mark Borden agreed that she brings “a great depth of understanding that can only come from experience.”

Marion Jouas, the board president, emphasized the importance of board members understanding their roles differ from the CEO’s.

In addition to Shimada, the board had selected Roxanne Shepherd, Jack Schwab and Blaine Bartlett for interviews.

Shimada is the second member appointed to the hospital board this year.

The five-person board of elected officials had 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. They reversed themselves after the medical staff spoke up for Staggs.

Last month, the board members appointed Katherine Nelson, a health care dispute arbitrator and attorney.