Kootenai Health CEO announces retirement

COEUR d’ALENE — After 13 years as Kootenai Health CEO, Jon Ness announced Thursday that he will retire in early 2024.

Kootenai Health’s board has formed a search committee to lead national recruitment efforts for the new CEO, according to a news release issued by the hospital. The search committee has engaged the executive recruiting firm Witt Kieffer.

Recruitment is expected to take six to nine months. Ness will continue to serve as CEO until the position is filled.

This means the new CEO will begin employment after the completion of Kootenai Health’s conversion from a hospital district to a nonprofit. That process is underway, with a completion date set for Dec. 31.

Ness joined Kootenai Health in 2010.

“It has truly been an honor to serve as Kootenai Health’s CEO,” Ness said in a news release. “I will be forever grateful to the highly-committed board members, outstanding medical staff, dedicated administrative team, wonderful employees and all of our community and regional partners. We have accomplished so much together since 2010 and have done this work when our community and patients needed us the most. I will be excited to see Kootenai Health continue to grow and develop new clinical programs to serve northern Idaho.”

Kootenai Health is the third-largest health system in Idaho with more than 4,000 employees.