NKC hospital CEO retires after news of potential sale

NORTH KANSAS CITY, Mo. - North Kansas City Hospital CEO David Carpenter will retire after almost 14 years.

The announcement comes just after the hospital's owner, the City of North Kansas City, revealed it is considering selling the hospital, and the plans had been in the works for some time without telling any hospital executives or board members.

Just last week Carpenter said he was shocked by those plans.

But Carpenter says says that's not his reason for leaving.

He says he's retiring because his wife Michelle has already moved to Arizona where the climate is better for her health.

He says she has significant health issues.

"If something were to happen to her and I was still up here working, I might always regret the fact that we didn't spend some time together," said Carpenter.

Carpenter says his wife moved to Arizona in January.

He told the hospital board May 21 he planned to retire.

He learned about the potential sale on June 18.

The hospital is also in the middle of a major expansion project, and Carpenter realizes people may think he quit because of the controversy over the potential sale.

"We discussed the issue with the city timing, and decided that we needed to move forward with the plan. It was already in the works," said Carpenter.

Carpenter will be replaced in July by Peggy Schmitt, who's been a hospital vice-president for 19 years.

Carpenter said, "That just made the timing fit all the better. She was ready to accept the challenge, and I was ready to head to Arizona at the end of the year."

He'll stay on as an adviser until he leaves for good in December.

Carpenter says the hospital board met Monday night.

The hospital's lawyer will meet with the city council's lawyer to try to hash things out, but Carpenter says the board and hospital executives are still against selling the hospital.