CHRISTIANSTED — Douglas Koch, chief executive officer at the Juan F. Luis Hospital in St. Croix, announced his resignation this week.
In a statement, Luis Hospital Board and territorial hospital Board of Directors Chair Chris Finch expressed disappointment in the news on behalf of board members and stated that they had looked forward to working with Koch for years to come.
“Under his leadership, we successfully moved most hospital operations into JFL North,” he said. “We were able to hire permanent nurses, thus greatly reducing our dependence on temporary travel agency staffing, and he has been building an excellent leadership and hospital team.”
Finch noted that Koch just recently received a “stellar” personnel evaluation.
In a letter to hospital staff, Koch cited personal reasons for leaving the position and said he intends to relocate back to the Midwest to be closer to his family after working closely with the hospital board, executive leadership team and medical staff to ensure a smooth transition over the coming months.
“I am incredibly proud of the progress we have made together and look forward to watching the continued successes yet to come,” he wrote.
During his two-and-a-half years as Luis Hospital’s CEO, Koch oversaw the hospital’s transition from JFL Main to JFL North, a temporary hospital where patients were transferred last year.
Testifying before members of the Legislature on several occasions in recent years, Koch spoke to the challenges posed to territory hospitals from uncompensated care and the long-standing problem with “boarders” — patients who do not necessarily require acute care but who remain in hospital beds due to the lack of long-term care beds across the territory.
During a budget hearing last summer, Koch said that through collaborations with multiple agencies, JFL was able to reduce its number of boarders dramatically.