Ventura County Health Care Agency Director Bill Foley is retiring on March 6, 2021.

Foley, who took on the role of director in December 2018, has worked in public safety net health systems for decades. When he came to Ventura County he brought experience from working with the Chicago-based Cook Count Health and Hospitals System, as well as the New York Health and Hospitals System.

The Ventura County Health Care Agency includes the Public Health Department, which has led the county response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The biggest part of the agency, though, consists of the county’s public health care providers: Ventura County Medical Center, the main hospital in Ventura; Santa Paula Hospital; and a network of clinics throughout the county.

Foley took over when VCMC was suffering from budget deficits and layoffs. In a news release announcing Foley’s retirement, County Executive Officer Mike Powers credited him with putting the hospital system “on a path towards financial stability.” Ventura County Medical Center had a projected deficit of $47 million in 2019 and now operates with a small surplus.

“He led the revitalization efforts for Santa Paula Hospital and the preliminary planning for an integrated healthcare campus at the Harvest site in Eastern Santa Paula,” Powers said. “Additionally, he has led efforts to explore meaningful strategic partnerships with other health care systems in the market. Bill has worked hard during his tenure to position our healthcare system to continue to be an essential provider of health care services for our community members.”

Foley has agreed to stay on in an advisory role after he steps down.

“It’s been a pleasure and an honor to serve as director of the Health Care Agency,” Foley said in the news release. “I’m very proud that we have strengthened the leadership of the Agency, that we are stabilizing the finances of the Ventura County Medical System and that we’ve positioned our system to continue to be an essential provider of healthcare services for the residents of Ventura County in the future.”