By Kathleen Acuff

El Camino Hospital’s CEO of five years, Lee Domanico, resigned last Wednesday. His last day on the job in Mountain View will be Jan. 8.

Domanico said he is leaving to head a hospital system similar in size to those he led in Los Angeles and Philadelphia. Legacy Health System in Portland, Ore., comprises five hospitals, a full-service research facility, a hospice agency and a range of clinics.

What did Legacy offer to lure him away?

“It’s a larger system, a bigger job, more responsibility,” Domanico said. “It’s an opportunity to do for five hospitals, hopefully, what I was able to do for one.”

When Domanico arrived at El Camino Oct. 30, 2000, the hospital was in poor financial shape and needed to bring its facilities into conformance with state seismic standards. The rebuilding budget necessitated - and gained - voter approval of $148 million in general obligation bonds.

The announcement that the hospital board of directors had accepted Domanico’s resignation came at the end of last week’s board meeting. The four directors present all expressed regret at the CEO’s decision to leave.

Director Mark O’Connor said, “It’s a loss to the hospital community, a loss to the community in general. I have a certain amount of trepidation about what’s going to happen in the future.”

Domanico reminded the board that his original goal when he assumed his leadership role at El Camino echoed the Hippocratic Oath all physicians take: “First, do no harm.”

That goal morphed into “the pursuit of greatness,” he said.

“It’s been a great five years,” Domanico told the board. “… As sports commentator Brett Musberger said when he retired, ‘Folks, I’ve had the best seat in the house.’”

Acceptance of the CEO’s resignation was announced after a 3-0 decision, with one abstention, to award him a 4 percent increase to his base pay that rtroactively raised his salary to $520,000 for the fiscal year that began July 1.