Newhall Memorial Hospital CEO Quits

J. Duffy Watson, chief executive of Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital since 1977, has resigned as head of the Santa Clarita Valley’s only in-patient health-care center, hospital officials said Friday.

Watson’s resignation came during a hospital board of directors meeting late Thursday, but board members reached Friday declined comment.

Watson also could not be reached.

The nonprofit health center is more than $38 million in debt, said Lisa Foust, vice president of special projects for the hospital.

The hospital has also been the target of complaints from workers about low pay, under-staffing and patient safety.

The California Nurses Assn. successfully organized about 250 registered nurses last summer. The United Electrical, Radio and Machinery Workers of America union seeks to band together about 500 other employees, including lab technicians and therapists, during elections in late February.

In a written statement, Board Chairman W. Bryan George said the executive change would give the hospital a new direction and “financial stability,” while “preserving the quality of medical care we provide.”

David R. Tumilty, a senior vice president and chief financial officer at the hospital, will fill in for Watson temporarily. A four-member search committee has begun looking for a replacement.

During his tenure, Watson oversaw key developments, such as the addition of a trauma center and outpatient surgery center at the 217-bed hospital.