Scott Bosch, president and CEO of Harrison Medical Center, will retire from his executive post at the end of July.

That announcement was made today by Harrison Medical Center’s board chairman Jim Civilla. Bosch has served in his role for nearly a decade.

“I came to Harrison with specific goals and a vision in mind,” said Bosch. “More than just expanding bricks-and-mortar, I wanted to make Harrison a better place; to not only continue as a safe place for our patients, but to ensure a visible administration both internally and throughout our community, and to be recognized regionally and nationally for exceptional quality. I wanted to move this organization from good to great and I believe I have accomplished many of those goals.”

The Harrison Medical Center board is currently developing a succession plan which it will implement during the next several months. The Harrison board will work with the board of Franciscan to create a search committee to conduct a national search for Bosch’s replacement.

Bosch said he made the decision to retire in February after talking with his family. He informed the board at that time and the plan to announce his retirement got underway.

“I’ve always had in mind that I would retire at 60,” he said. “I’ll be 61 in July. I’ve been in health care administration for 37 years and I’ve done all the things I set out to do.”

Bosch said his decision to retire had nothing to do with the hospital’s recent affiliation with the Franciscan Health System, nor did it have to do with the current labor negotiations with the ProTech union employees.

“I made this decision in February, long before the labor situation evolved,” Bosch said. “I plan to work for the resolution of our labor issues because we need our employees. And Franciscan had nothing to do with it. This is me. I made the decision because I’ve had a great career and I’m ready to do something new.””

Most recently, Bosch oversaw the hospital’s affiliation with Franciscan Health System, a move that was controversial in some camps. He spoke many times to local residents and community groups about how medical care would improve through the affiliation.

Harrison officials said the affiliation is bringing substantial investment into Harrison infrastructure and enables the organization to adopt advanced IT systems, including the Epic electronic medical record, and to expand services throughout the Kitsap and Olympic Peninsulas.

The transition to the electronic patient medical record system is something Bosch hopes to see completed before July.

“In the next four months, we hope to complete the integration of that system,” he said.

Bosch has three grown sons who live out of state and he said he wants to be able to spend more time with them.

“I have sons in San Francisco, Denver and Philadelphia,” he said. “And soon, I hope to be a grandfather. I want to be able to spend time with family and do other things like learn a second language or take some cooking classes with my wife. There’s a whole world out there of things to do.”

He said his career has been so busy that there hasn’t been time for travel or other interests. He’ll take the first six months to decide what specific things he wants to do and expects that his wife will remain working with the palliative care program at Harrison. He may do some volunteer work with the Harrison Medical Center Foundation.

Bosch also oversaw the medical center’s new orthopedic center which opened last fall. The Orthopeadic Center at Harrison allows patients with back, knee, hip and spine surgical needs the ability to have those in Kitsap County without having to travel to Tacoma or Seattle.

Board chairman Civilla praised Bosch’s leadership.

“Through Scott’s leadership, Harrison Medical Center is now well-poised to fulfill its mission for generations to come,” said Civilla. “Scott helped usher Harrison through a pivotal juncture in its history; one that will make a positive difference and create healthier communities far into the future.”

Hospital officials also said Bosch’s leadership accomplished other notable things. During the past five years, Harrison has achieved industry-wide recognition for excellence in outstanding clinical quality and patient care.

Simultaneously, Harrison expanded and refined essential services, such as cardiovascular and orthopaedic care, and opened new facilities in North Mason, Port Orchard, Silverdale, the Olympic Peninsula, and now a soon-to-come Bainbridge Island center, providing 24-hour healthcare for the first time to island residents.

Officials at Franciscan also praised Bosch’s leadership.

“Scott’s legacy is his collaborative leadership at all levels of the organization and throughout the communities it serves,” said Joe Wilczek, chief executive officer of Franciscan Health System. “Harrison is poised, as part of a regional health system, to innovate healthcare for people across Puget Sound.”

Bosch will step down from his post on July 31. He plans to remain in the Kitsap County area during his retirement.