Mike Glenn, former chief executive officer at Olympic Medical Center in Port Angeles and executive at Valley Medical Center in Renton, has been named the next CEO of Jefferson Healthcare.

Glenn, 48, lives in Sequim with his wife, Kristin, an attorney who works for the state attorney general. They have a 9-year-old daughter.

Glenn offered three reasons for seeking the position – the reputation of Jefferson Healthcare, his family’s love of the Olympic Peninsula and his desire to be a CEO.

"First and foremost, it’s an excellent organization," Glenn said in August. "Jefferson Healthcare is known throughout the state for its quality and value-driven leadership and progressive approach to health care."

A resident of the Olympic Peninsula for 20 years, Glenn had been commuting to his job in Renton and wanted to stay on the peninsula.

"I enjoy what I’m doing, but I was looking at a position as CEO," Glenn said before taking the job. "It’s the role I played at Olympic Medical Center and it’s the role I’m most comfortable in."

Jefferson Healthcare commissioners interviewed Glenn and four other candidates earlier this summer during two days of closed executive sessions at Sea-Tac Airport. "While all were impressive and viable, the commissioners feel Mike is clearly the best qualified for the CEO position and an excellent fit for our community," Chief Governance Officer Jill Buhler said.

Glenn emerged from candidates that Buhler acknowledged came from as far away as New York. The hospital hired an executive search firm from San Francisco for a minimum of $80,000 to help find a replacement for retiring CEO Vic Dirksen, who has steered the hospital for 33 years.

Glenn’s experience

In a press release, Buhler said Glenn served as CEO of Olympic Medical Center from 1999-2006 and that under his direction the center developed into a thriving medical center.

She said he developed a cancer center in Sequim, negotiated a partnership with the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and led the recruitment of 25 new physicians to the community.

"Under Mike’s leadership, Olympic Medical Center garnered numerous awards for high quality, compassionate care," she wrote.

Glenn spent the past two years as a senior vice president of business development and product line management at Valley Medical Center, a 303-bed public hospital in Renton where he has been developing alliances with physician groups.

He also has been on a leadership team at Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia.

Glenn was born in Olympia and earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Linfield College in McMinnville, Ore., and a master’s degree in health administration from Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio.

All five top candidates were critiqued by commissioners in six areas – their understanding of rural hospitals, physician relations, experience with improving market share, financial knowledge of critical-access hospitals, experience working with public boards and management style.

Glenn will earn a base salary of $225,000 a year as the new superintendent CEO of Jefferson Healthcare, a $65 million-a-year entity.

The six-digit salary, approved Sept. 2 by Jefferson Healthcare commissioners, makes him that county’s highest paid public administrator.