Tri-Cities Cancer Center director is leaving. What’s the future of the nonprofit?
The head of the Tri-Cities Cancer Center announced his retirement this week.
Chuck DeGooyer, chief executive of the center for the past seven years, said he would be retiring Dec. 31.
The cancer center in Kennewick already is in transition after Lourdes Health in Pasco and Trios Health in Kennewick recently resigned as members of the center, leaving Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland as the sole remaining member of the nonprofit center.
The cancer center’s board will be working through defining the future structure of the center and starting the search for DeGooyer’s successor, the center said in an announcement.
It has hired an independent consultant to help determine the best path forward.
Lourdes and Trios withdrew from the cancer center in Kennewick earlier this year after unsuccessful discussions on how they could remain members of the nonprofit center after being sold to LifePoint Health, a for-profit company.
The cancer center was required to pay $682,000 for their interests in the center, with the money going to the Kennewick Public Hospital District and to Our Lady of Lourdes Foundation, the nonprofit associated with the Pasco hospital when it was owned by Ascension, A Catholic nonprofit agency.
Kadlec remains the only nonprofit hospital in the Tri-Cities, owned by Catholic Providence Health Services.
DeGooyer was an original leader in the creation and development of the cancer center in 1994 when the organization was formed as a partnership of the three Tri-Cities hospitals.
The center was an example of the three hospitals cooperating with each other, rather than competing, to offer Tri-Cities cancer patients multiple cancer services in a single location and to serve as a regional center.
For the decade before DeGooyer became chief executive of the center, he was an executive with the American Cancer Society.
“Chuck has made an indelible mark on cancer care in the Tri-Cities, providing vision, leadership and inspiration to the entire cancer center organization,” said Reza Kaleel, chairman of the cancer center board.
He also has been instrumental in the recent change in the center’s member structure.
“I’ve been a part of this amazing organization for close to two decades in total,” he said. “I’m proud of all that has been accomplished in building this center into a world-class facility where our community can receive the cancer treatment and support they deserve close to home.”
He expects to watch the cancer care in the Tri-Cities continue to advance as he spends more time with friends and family, particularly his grandchildren, he said.