A man who was at the helm of the Wallowa County Health Care District for six years during the period when the new Wallowa Memorial Hospital was conceived, planned, constructed and dedicated may soon return to his old position as district chief executive officer here.

The district board of directors Monday voted unanimously to offer the CEO position to Larry Davy, who has held the same job at the larger Tillamook County General Hospital since he left Wallowa County in 2007.

Davy has already indicated his desire to return to this county and has been interviewed by the boards CEO search committee, who gave an enthusiastic thumbs-up to Davy.

Davy was director of nursing at WMH before serving as its CEO for six years. If he accepts the boards offer, he will succeed Dave Harman, the CEO who came out of semi-retirement from Burns to take Davys place in 2007.

The board discussed the matter in an executive session near the end of its regular board meeting, before voting in open session to offer the top job to Davy.

He was a good CEO before and hell be a great CEO now, Harman said, noting that the medical staff all were positive about Davys potential return. He said that six years as head of a much larger critical care access hospital has given Davy even more to offer as CEO.

After the board meeting, board members gave some of the reasons for their decision, which they said was based on Davys qualifications, his experience, his knowledge of health care and his ties to Wallowa County.

Board chair Bob Williams said that his strong résumé and his close connection to Wallowa County were considered. A strong consideration is that it was under his leadership that this hospital was built, he said.

Hes totally up to speed with the changes in the health care industry and has good thoughts on how to lead us through those changes, Nick Lunde said, adding, He still owns a house in Wallowa County.

He would be a good fit, said Sue Coleman, the newest member of the health care district who did not know Davy previously. She aid she was very impressed with him during his interview.

During the public comment part of the meeting, Laurie McNall, a registered nurse in the county, quizzed the board about why it was apparently not going to advertise the CEO position and post it on the Internet, as she thought had previously been the plan.

She also asked why the board was going into executive session on that one agenda item, the CEO position, out of public view. I see this as a very tight, closed circle, she said. She also brought up Larry Davys name, asking why he was the only one being considered.

McNall was told that three unsuccessful candidates in the recent past had been interviewed.

We have a responsibility to find the right CEO for this hospital, Lunde responded. He said that process does not necessarily mean they have to spend time and money to advertise nationwide, statewide or regionally, to find the person they feel would be the best match.

Williams noted that an executive session is a public meeting process that allows the board and candidate to have a confidential exchange of information. We are going to respect that, he said, adding that any decision would be made in open session.

Dave Harman said that if Davy decides to accept the boards offer, the CEO transition would probably be around Jan. 1.

In other business, Ted Johnson of Marathon Development gave the first financial report of the new Wallowa Valley Senior Living; outgoing chief financial officer Lexi Fields introduced her successor, Joe Warner; Nick Lunde and Kate Loftus were appointed as board representatives on the districts Quality Committee; and Sue Coleman volunteered as board representative to help form a new district Ethics Committee.