Dan McKay Leaving Northwest Health For Top Post at Sparks Health System

Northwest Health System CEO Dan McKay has tendered his resignation from the Springdale hospital system, and is the new CEO of Sparks Health System in Fort Smith and its sister facility, Summit Medical Center in Van Buren.

McKay’s new job is effective in the month of August, though a date has not been specified.

Northwest Health System, Sparks and Summit are all owned by publicly traded Community Health Systems Inc. of Franklin, Tennessee.

McKay has served as CEO of NHS since April 2010, when he replaced Doug Arnold. McKay also spent a few months as interim CEO in 2008 after Gary Looper retired and before Arnold was hired.

NHS operates 35 clinics and hospitals in Springdale, Siloam Springs and Bentonville and the Willow Creek Women’s Hospital in Johnson.

Before becoming CEO in 2010, McKay was vice president of operations for Division IV at CHS.

McKay is filling a position that has been unstable. Charles Stewart, announced as CEO of Sparks/Summit last September, resigned in March. He was following Gary Blan, who was announced as CEO in March 2013 but resigned for personal reasons less than three months later.

Sparks Health System includes Sparks Regional Medical Center, Sparks Clinic, Sparks PremierCare physician-hospital organization, Sparks Home Health and the Marvin Altman Fitness Center.

Summit Medical Center is a 103-bed hospital.