By VICKI URBANIK

One week after the county hospital officially was sold to Community Health Systems of Tennessee, hospital president and Chief Executive Officer Ron Winger announced his resignation.

“It is the right time for Porter to have a new leader. I know that with a new leader comes a new vision and, as a subsidiary of Community Health Systems, Porter will have the support to achieve that new vision,” Winger said in a statement issued Tuesday afternoon by Porter hospital.

Winger’s resignation takes effect this Friday. A national search will be conducted for his replacement. In the meantime, CHS has named as interim CEO Jonathan Nalli, who is a health care executive who has helped many hospitals through administrator transitions, according to the hospital statement.

The costs of Winger’s severance package will be the responsibility of CHS and won’t come out of the county’s proceeds from the hospital sale, according to both hospital Vice-President of Marketing and Media Relations Deb Butterfield and Porter County Commissioner President Robert Harper. The county is expected to end up with about $120 million from the sale.

It could not be confirmed just what Winger will receive in severance pay, but under the contract that Winger had with the county hospital, the amount could total at least $1.5 million.

Butterfield said the terms of Winger’s resignation are between him and CHS, and that she isn’t privy to the details. She also said she does not know if Winger and CHS negotiated a new contract.

Under the contract with the county hospital, Winger was entitled to his salary, benefits, and other expenses for 35 months in the event the hospital is sold or merged with another entity. Winger’s base salary has been $320,132, with a possible bonus of up to 30 percent of that salary. His benefits included a hospital-paid vehicle, a $850 per month auto allowance, pension benefits, and memberships.

In addition, Winger’s contract called for retention pay based on his length of service to the hospital. Winger was hired as CEO in 2001, which would make him eligible for retention pay of either $540,000 or twice the amount of his annual base salary for the past three years, whichever is more.

The previous hospital CEO, Wiley Carr, who resigned in 2000 with two years left in his contract, received a buyout of $1.8 million, which include two years of his salary plus a lump sum retirement.

Harper, who was on the county/hospital task force that searched for a buyer for the county hospital, said he assumed that CHS would want a new chief executive officer.

“It’s a fresh, new business, and they’re bringing in fresh, new leadership,” he said, adding that he is certain CHS will provide “top-notch service” to the people of Porter County.

In the hospital statement, Winger said he has been very proud of Porter hospital’s mission to care for patients and that with a new state-of-the art facility, the hospital will be the leader of health care services in Northwest Indiana.

“I will always be proud of the opportunity that I had to work at Porter,” he said.

The hospital statement included words of praise for Winger from Tom Miller, president of the Lutheran Network in Fort Wayne. The Lutheran Network is owned by Triad Hospitals Inc., which is in the process of being acquired by CHS.

“Porter has excelled under Ron’s leadership,” Miller said. “We wish him well and thank him for his dedication and hard work at Porter. Ron is a passionate health care leader and he will be missed.”

The hospital statement also said that a new hospital board of trustees is expected to be named in a week or two.

Winger’s contract with the county hospital also stipulated that in the event of his departure, Winger will not discuss Porter hospital matters with anyone and that he will not accept employment as the head of any other hospital or health care system that services Northwest Indiana, both for a period of three years.

Posted 5/9/2007