Ness to retire from Kootenai Health

COEUR d'ALENE — When Jon Ness was hired as CEO of Kootenai Health in 2010, the hospital system had 1,200 employees. Today, as Ness prepares to retire in early 2024, Kootenai Health employs over 4,000 people, has become a regional referral center for health care and provides services for all of North Idaho.

The hospital announced Ness’ retirement plans Wednesday.

“I’ve now been in health care for almost 40 years and approaching my late 60s. There are a lot of talented people in health care, and this is going to be a great position for the next CEO,” Ness said Thursday. “I thought that this was actually a good time for that transition.”

A national search to find Ness’ replacement is expected to take six to nine months. He will continue to serve until the position is filled. This timeline means the new CEO will begin his or her employment after all 501(c)(3) conversion work, currently underway at Kootenai Health, has been completed.

Ness is confident an outstanding candidate will be selected to succeed him. He said he thinks it’s important that this individual understands the growth projections of the community.

“When you step outside of the hospital, and you look at all the growth, Kootenai Health has to be able to match that population growth with new services,” Ness said. “And that requires a lot of thinking, planning, organizing, designing — to make sure that you get sufficient numbers of employees, physicians, buildings and technology.”

Ness said there is another important aspect of organizational growth to keep in mind.

“Sometimes when organizations grow, they compromise their culture, so I'm hopeful that the next CEO will recognize that growth is important, but culture is the foundation of Kootenai Health,” Ness said.

Paul Anderson was chairman of the Kootenai Health board when Ness was hired in 2010 following a national search that produced five strong candidates.

“His enthusiasm made him stand out, and his background,” Anderson said. “He was creative, and said he had plans for things he could do for us that would make Kootenai better, and he did. He certainly did.”

Anderson was on the board for five years while Ness was CEO. One of the changes Ness helped drive during that time was the development of Kootenai Heart Clinics, which used to be Heart Clinics Northwest. It took many meetings and negotiations, Anderson said, often in the evenings, to accomplish that.

“What a difference he’s made. It’s just incredible what Jon has been able to do,” Anderson said.

Looking toward the future, to the days when he will no longer head to work at the Kootenai Health campus, Ness said he plans to take a different approach to planning than he has as a CEO.

“My working style is that I'm really kind of focused on goals and measurements toward those goals and tasks,” Ness said. “I'm not going to go into retirement with a list, I'm going to have a blank page.”

He said he’s approaching the first six months as an adventure.

“I'm going to see how this all develops and be open to any possibilities that may come,” Ness said.

There are two things, though, that are certain about his future.

“We’re a sports family. My kids all played Division I sports,” Ness said. “So I fully anticipate attending NFL games, March Madness … I’d love to go to the Kentucky Derby, Wimbledon, the U.S. Open in New York City, just a whole variety of different sporting events here and in other places in the world.”

And he has no plans to move away from Coeur d’Alene.

“My own experience is that we, my wife and I, have loved it here. We really enjoy the amenities that are available, whether it's recreation, or if it's the community at large,” Ness said. “I find the people to be really friendly and hospitable, and you can turn on or turn off the politics at your own pleasure … This is one of the better places to live in the United States.”