CEO of Kaweah Health Gary Herbst will retire from his position as early as June 30, 2026, ending nine years as the head administrator of the Kaweah Delta Health Care District. Herbst assumed the role in August 2017, becoming the district’s fourth chief executive officer. He replaced longtime CEO Lindsay Mann.
Herbst Says the Time Is Right
The search for Herbst’s replacement could begin as early as July. Herbst originally set the end of June 2025 for the end of his 34-year career with Kaweah Health, however, that was delayed by a year with the approval of Kaweah’s board of directors. In an internal announcement shared with Kaweah Health employees on June 16, Herbst stated no definitive reason for his choice. He said he feels the time is right.
“Deciding when to retire is never easy,” Herbst wrote. “My late father-in-law, who retired after a long career, once told me that you simply know when the time is right not because of calculations or milestones, but by instinct. I now understand what he meant, and while this is a difficult decision both personally and professionally, I know it is the right time for me and for Kaweah Health.”
Herbst will be 66 when his picked retirement date arrives. However, he may remain beyond that time if his replacement is not in place, he said in the internal memo.
“This thorough process will include both internal and external candidates, with opportunities for community engagement and input,” Herbst said. “To ensure a seamless transition, I will continue to lead Kaweah Health until my successor is selected. Our organization remains fully committed to its strategic priorities and continued growth during this time.”
Kaweah Health is the largest employer in Tulare County. The district employs more than 5,000 people. Additionally, it has a medical staff of in excess of 700 caregivers.
According to the website TransparentCalifornia.com, Herbst’s salary for 2023 was $1,074,168, including benefits.
Colleagues Praise Herbst’s Tenure
President of the Kaweah Health Board of Directors Mike Olmos praised Herbst for guiding the district and Kaweah Medical Center through difficult periods. Herbst’s tenure included the global outbreak of COVID-19 in early 2020.
“Through Gary’s leadership, we have continued to meet the evolving needs of our growing community,” said Olmos in a press release. “Many challenges have come our way, and Gary’s thoughtful insights and strategic focus inspired trust among team members and the community alike. We thank Gary for his many years of service to our mission and his unwavering commitment to our healthcare district.”
Randy Dodd, CEO of the Tulare Local Health Care District, also praised Herbst’s performance and offered his congratulations.
“I’m sure he’s pleased to exit a very successful career,” Dodd said.
Dodd said Herbst provided for patients displaced by the sudden year-long closure of the Tulare Regional Medical Center in October 2017. It reopened with new management in October 2018 as Adventist Tulare. Dodd said Kaweah Health under Herbst’s leadership took up most of the load the closure created.
“From the board’s perspective, the board is very grateful for caring for area patients when the district went into bankruptcy and closed,” Dodd said. “Gary did a great job for those people who didn’t have access to a local hospital like they used to.”
He also praised Kaweah Health generally.
“Having them there to pick up that slack, the board is very grateful,” Dodd said.
Herbst’s Projects Saved District Money
According to Nevin House, former Kaweah Health board president Nevin House, changes made while Herbst was in the CEO’s seat resulted in a streamlining of the district’s operations. He also said he considers Herbst a friend.
“He’s a great guy. I really like Gary,” House said. “I enjoyed my time on the board and working with him on several projects.”
Specifically, House worked with Herbst to update the district’s outmoded and impractical medical records computer system to a modern, networked system in 2018.
“What they had before was a hodgepodge of systems they added throughout the years. They had systems that didn’t really talk to each other,” House said. “The different parts of the systems were from 44 suppliers and programmers.”
House described the system replaced under Herbst as a “chain” of programs never intended to communicate with one another, yet forced to do so. While the new system – Cerner – wasn’t flawless, it marked a landmark improvement, according to House.
“There were definitely growing pains with the system,” he said. “It’s evolved over the years into a major benefit. Now, you go into the doctor and you go onto a portal and see your results. If you go to the ER and they have your files, all that’s Cerner. It’s keeping people healthy in the long run.”
House was also with the district when it rebranded itself as “Kaweah Health” to the tune of more than $1 million. The change, he said, drew unwarranted criticism for the expense. The purpose was to ensure patients knew they were dealing with a Kaweah Health Care District institution. At the point the change was made in May 2021, the district was operating its service centers under a wide variety of names.
“I think to get more focus and everything on the same name (was critical), because there were so many names,” House said. “(The Kaweah Health name was) letting people know they were getting something from Kaweah.”
Ultimately, the name change only cost the district an additional $300,000 beyond what it would have spent anyway. According to House, replacing the aged sign at Kaweah Medical Center, which had begun to crack, and supplying the district’s thousands of employees with replacement uniforms was already budgeted for around $700,000.
“The sign at the hospital was cracked,” he said. “The jackets were all getting old.”
Herbst’s Career at Kaweah Saw Many Highlights
Renaming and streaming lining recordkeeping weren’t his only accomplishments while the district was under Herbst’s oversight.
In 2018, Herbst and CEO Donna Hefner of Porterville’s Sierra View Local Health Care District worked a deal to enhance the county’s overall ability to provide care. The pair guided the crafting of a joint powers agreement between the districts to improve both institution’s buying and hiring power. It represented the first time the neighboring health districts joined forces.
“This will allow us to start working together, which we haven’t been able to do in the past,” Hefner said at the time.
The long-overdue expansion of Kaweah Medical Center’s emergency department began the next year. First-phase construction was completed in June 2019. In total, the expansion saw the ED increase to a total of 74 patient beds.
2022 also saw a major development. Kaweah Health was awarded $8.7 million to construct the county’s first mental health hospital specifically for young patients. The grant was intended to add a 22-bed, 8,000-square-foot addition to Kaweah Health’s Mental Health Hospital. It’s opening is scheduled for this year.
“I am deeply grateful for the privilege of working alongside such talented and dedicated colleagues,” Herbst said. “Together, we have ccomplished remarkable things for our patients and our community. These accomplishments are a testament to the dedication and teamwork of everyone at Kaweah Health.”
He also remarked on the overall changes at Kaweah during his 34 years working there.
“Reflecting on my time here, I am deeply grateful for the privilege of working alongside such talented and dedicated colleagues,” Herbst said. “Together, we have transformed Kaweah Health from a small community hospital into an award-winning regional medical and trauma center. I am incredibly proud of what we have accomplished for our patients and our community.”
Herbst’s Time at Kaweah Not Trouble-Free
The entire world was under enormous pressure during the COVID-19 pandemic that started in earnest in 2020. Taking the brunt of the financial hit in the medical communities were hospitals that could not turn away the infected. Kaweah Health was particularly hard hit.
The hit to the budget was a loss in 2021-22 of $17.9 million at the bottom line. The next year the district was $11.2 million short for the budget ending in June 2023. Kaweah Health has improved its financial position since, thanks in part to emergency loans from the state, yet its money woes go on.
Those woes were highlighted in February 2023, when the district was forced to place $17 million on deposit when it failed to maintain cash reserves adequate to cover bonds Kaweah issued starting in 1999.
The added financial burden came as Kaweah struggled to dramatically slash its budget by $47.8 million for the remaining four months of fiscal year 2023. Cuts included layoffs, closing unfilled positions and cutting facilities maintenance, planning and construction by more than $10 million.
Also during the COVID-19 pandemic, Herbst became embroiled in a controversy involving Adventist Health Central Valley Network (now Central California Network). In October 2021, Herbst said state regulators had warned the Adventist network to end practices that allowed them to keep some of their facilities free of COVID-19 patients. Adventist denied the state had intervened.
Deaths in the ED in 2021, 2023
Two separate and equally tragic fatal incidents also occurred under Herbst’s watch.
In 2021, an emergency department patient died after a resident doctor changed the man’s resuscitation order with his consent. The 58-year-old man died as a result.
A dangerous, federally-controlled narcotic prescribed to the patient was also stolen from his IV stand during his stay in the ED. The medication was taken by a contract employee working as a medical scribe in the ED. The employee injected himself with the drug in a public bathroom in the ED and died from the resulting overdose.
The resulting investigation by the California Department of Public Health found an ongoing pattern of negligence on the part of the district’s governing board, administrators and care providers in securing the hospital’s supply of dangerous controlled pharmaceuticals. The negligence led directly to the employee’s death, the state’s report concluded.
In 2023, state investigators returned to the Kaweah Health ED following the death of another patient there. The state found two ED nurses failed to treat a 60-year-old cardiac patient, leaving the man waiting in an ED hallway while the pair sat nearby. Kaweah officials then told the man’s family he died in the ambulance while on route to the hospital. The dead man’s surviving family is now suing Kaweah Health for wrongful death, while the two nurses involved are facing state disciplinary hearings that could result in the loss of their licenses.
Most recently, in 2024, the district was forced to pay more than 6,000 current and former employees for unpaid and underpaid work. According to settlements with workers who sued Kaweah Health, the district was required to pay more than $500,000 in unpaid wages and civil penalties.
Herbst Sees Rosy Future for Kaweah Health
As he began his final year at Kaweah, Herbst said he would leave behind a “dedicated” staff and a “thriving” district for his successor. The work accomplished under his direction represents a base on which the district can continue its mission.
“These accomplishments are a testament to the dedication and teamwork of everyone at Kaweah Health,” Herbst wrote. “I am honored to have served as your director of business development, CFO, and CEO, and I will always cherish the relationships and memories I have made here.”
Herbst said his work for Kaweah was a cherished opportunity. He praised those who have worked under him.
“Thank you for your support, friendship, and dedication over the past three decades. It has been the honor of my career to serve you and our community,” Herbst wrote. “I look forward to this next chapter of my life, spending more time with family and friends, and watching Kaweah Health continue to flourish under new leadership.”
Good bye, trash🗑