Williams retires from HSH board

On August 20, Dr. Bill Williams was honored at Hot Springs Health to celebrate his retirement from being chairman of their board. Williams was first appointed to be on the board in the mid 1990s. Hot Springs Health CEO Scott Alwin and the board presented a special bench to Dr. Williams with a plaque on it dedicated to his service.

Regarding his retirement from the board, Williams said, “It was time. I wasn’t gonna run for another four years, and we have a pretty good board and the leadership on that board. We just have a good organization, admin, the staff. I felt the need. I should probably step away and let Mellissa Johnson take the reins.”

According to Williams, he wanted to retire from the board on a high note. Regarding his accomplishments, William notes that never did anything alone, and that he worked with other individuals. 

However, he said he was part of getting the hospital district passed so they could get a stable base of funding. This enabled them to construct a new hospital building, as the original one was  60 years old. William noted that it was done with the help of the hospital board, the county commissioners and others in the community who voted for it on the ballot. Williams said that “that would be the high mark” for his involvement.

Williams acknowledged that it didn’t happen immediately when they had to recognize after a failed initial attempt to put the district on the ballot. Two years later, that had a majority of support. This district then allowed members of the board to be elected and govern over the district’s functions. Williams said they were “people with no agenda but to further the hospital and the community.”

Williams was the chairman of the hospital board for about 15 years and retired officially on May 31. He still operates as a veterinarian in his private practice as a scaled down practice.