There’s big leadership changes on the horizon for Whidbey General Hospital.

As the hospital moves forward with a $50-million expansion project, both the CEO and the CFO announced their plans to leave.

Chief Operations Officer Hank Hanigan’s last day with the hospital will be Oct. 11. He is leaving to become the chief executive officer of Whitman Hospital in Eastern Washington.

Tom Tomasino, CEO of the hospital, said earlier that he will not be renewing his contract with the hospital when it ends in 2015.

And the hospital has a new interim chief financial officer, Frank Hemeon.

Anne Tarrant, president of the hospital board, said she doesn’t think the leadership changes will result in a hardship.

“Tom’s got a good plan in place and I think the hospital will be fine,” she said.

Tomasino has put the hospital in “a very good position,” she said.

Hanigan said he jumped at his chance to work as the CEO in a similar hospital to Whidbey General; Whitman Hospital is also a critical access and public district hospital, the working environment he’s used to.

But the real deciding factor for him was the proximity to his children.

“My daughter has just started school in Spokane, and my son is going to be moving to Spokane,” Hanigan said. “I like my kids; I want to be near them.”

Hanigan has been with Whidbey General Hospital since February 2010, and since then, there have been many changes for the better.

“I have had the opportunity to get involved and really improve the facility in so many ways that, career-wise, it’s just been a magnificent experience,” Hanigan said.

Some of the accomplishments he listed included updating medical equipment and helping to bring patients back to the hospital.

Hanigan said that a few years ago, patients seemed to “drift off island,” but they’ve “done a lot to bring them back.”

“It’s kind of exciting,” Hanigan said of his career move to Whitman. “It’s sad to leave, because I do like this place a lot, but it’s also exciting. I’ve been able to reach a goal that I’ve wanted, which is good for my family.”

Tarrant said the board will likely allow the new CEO to choose a replacement for Hanigan.

Tomasino told board members at a June meeting that he plans to retire in October 2015. The board is currently working with an agency to do a nationwide search for candidates.

“As Tom prepares to leave in late 2015, we are experiencing high patient volumes, exceptional quality scores and improving patient satisfaction,” wrote Public Disclosure Officer Trish Rose in an email.

She credits Tomasino with helping with that improvement.

“As I prepare to leave Whidbey General next year after nearly 15 years of service, I could not be prouder of our team’s efforts to meet the community’s growing healthcare challenges,” Tomasino said in a written statement.

In his resignation notice to the board of commissioners, Tomasino wrote that, while he was CEO, “we have accomplished most of what we set down in our strategic plan, and much that we had not even considered.”

Hemeon stared as the interim financial officer this summer.

“I definitely think it’s going in the right direction,” Hanigan said of the hospital’s changes.

“One of the things that I really feel so good about is the community support that we now have.”