THOUSAND OAKS : Los Robles Hospital President Resigns

Robert L. Quist, president and chief executive officer of Los Robles Regional Medical Center in Thousand Oaks, announced Thursday that he would step down from his post.

Jill Donahue, a hospital spokeswoman, said Quist made the announcement during a brief staff meeting Thursday morning. She said Quist offered no explanation why he was leaving after 13 years. Quist said his resignation will be effective today.

Quist could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Dr. Frank Weil, chairman of the hospital’s board of trustees, said he believed that Quist’s decision to resign was prompted by the hospital’s corporate parent, Columbia HCA Inc. of Nashville, Tenn. Officials at Columbia were not available for comment.

“We didn’t have a clue this was happening,” Weil said. “We were completely out of the loop on this one. It was a corporate decision.”

Weil said Quist deserved credit for the hospital’s continued profitability, and its expansion of programs and facilities. He said Quist was the driving force behind efforts to renovate the medical center’s obstetrics ward, construction of a new neonatal intensive care ward, a soon-to-be-opened women’s health center and an additional cardiac surgical unit.

“This is quite a shock to us,” Weil said. “We are going to miss Bob a great deal.”