Interview with Eric Seale, the New SB Cottage Hospital Board Chair
This week I sat down with Eric Seale, the 2025 appointed Board Chair of SB Cottage Hospital (SBCH), to talk about his role, SBCH’s strategic plan, directives, and a new President & CEO to arrive in the spring following the retirement of Ron Werft. (My interview with Werft here) We met at the SBCH Library meeting room. Also attending was Chief Marketing Officer and Vice President for Population Health, Katy Bazylewicz, who provided statistical data points.
Seale has served two years on the SBCH Board prior this Chair appointment, which will be for three years 2025-2027, after which he will serve four years again as a board member. Seale explains, “Board members serve nine years, which means we have a lot of collective wisdom and experience among the directors. I rely for guidance on our immediate past Chair, Steven Zola, and all the other directors, as well as our President & CEO Ron Werft and his executive team.”
As the Managing Partner at Accufy Analytics, LLC, Seale brings to the table expertise in finance, tax, and accounting, coupled with the relevant computer science. He speaks the Thai language fluently and some Chinese; is an avid surfer – “I started at age 40, I love it, I surf every Thursday at 6:45 am no matter what.” – and works out at the Variant Training Lab five mornings a week to support his hiking, surfing and rock-climbing activities.
He is husband to Sandra Seale –the Development Director at Las Cumbres Observator – and father to five children and grandfather to six kids. Originally from Oakland, CA, he traveled around as the child of a father in the U.S. Army. Seale arrived at Santa Barbara in 1986 for his current job. He holds an MS in Finance from MIT Sloan School of Management, and a BSE in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Princeton University.
Here’s our interview:
Q.As the newly appointed Board Chair for SBCH, and with the retirement of SBCH CEO Ron Werft in July 2025, what can we be reassured of as continuing in health care services and policies from SBCH?
A. The board is committed to upholding the highest levels of quality patient care and experience, maintaining our broad array of clinical specialties, and supporting our workforce with a positive culture as we expand childcare and housing solutions.
What new services and collaborations will the hospital be funding and adding in 2025-2027 under your chairmanship working with the Board, hospital committees and a new President/CEO?
The management team will continue to execute Cottage’s strategic plan, which includes:
– Continuing to grow our Ambulatory Surgery Centers.
– Implementing a Virtual Nursing Pilot.
– Improving access by enhancing digital capabilities.
– Initiating 60 new clinical research studies through the Cottage Research Institute.
– Advancing the goals of the Compton Center for Medical Excellence, the Innovation Center, and the Cottage Center for Population Health.
The Innovation Center’s vision is to transform ideas into solutions where collaborative research, design and engineering activate solutions that improve the way people provide and receive health care at Cottage Health. The Center aims to support Cottage’s innovators, educators, and researchers by providing strategy, technical and business acceleration support, and investment capital – all with the goal of advancing health care for patients and families throughout our region and beyond.
Cottage Center for Population Health conducts a triannual Community Health Needs Assessment to identify priority health and well-being needs in Santa Barbara County. Examples of new and expanding programs and initiatives to address prioritized needs include the following:
– Prevent T2 – Cottage Center for Population Health plans to launch the CDC’s type 2 diabetes prevention program this year. Prevent T2 promotes modest weight loss (5%–7%) and increased physical activity through a 12-month lifestyle change program.
– Maternity Community Health Workers (CHWs) – Population Health and Cottage Women’s Services are expanding support for pregnant individuals through Maternity CHWs, who promote health and wellness during the perinatal period. CHWs help pregnant women in accessing education, health care, and basic needs services.
– Pediatric Resiliency Collaborative (PeRC) – Co-chaired by Cottage Health, PeRC provides screening for Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in pediatricians’ offices and connects families in need with therapy and basic needs resources to support patients’ health and wellness.
Has the Board set new selection criteria for potential CEO candidates, and when do you expect the new CEO to start?
Our selection criteria have not changed. We are emphasizing experience with shared governance, partnerships, innovation, and clinical program development. We expect the new CEO to join Cottage this spring.
What is your interest in health care and serving on the SBCH Board?
I admire health care providers for their dedication to service. The Board gives me a way to support Cottage in its mission to care for and improve the health of our community. I also am just wowed by how complex running a hospital is, how complex health care is. I like complex systems and get drawn into them. Before I was on this board, I was on the Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital Foundation Board, so that was my introduction into this realm. I learned a lot there and was asked to join this board.
How does your work and experience as a professional in the financial software industry – specifically for banking finance with Accufy Analytics – lend itself to your work as Board Chair at SBCH?
In my work role, I work on complex problems involving finance, tax and accounting. These tend to be very specific. The Board tackles broader and more important issues. All the directors bring their own experience in thinking critically and compassionately to their duties on the Board.
What is the coolest part of your profession?
The coolest part is that our company can participate in renewable energy. Our clients use our software to structure cash and tax flows of their transactions to finance wind, solar and battery installations.
Currently there are 15 board members, with room for five more. For anyone interested in serving on the SBCH Board, what is the procedure?
Interested community members can reach out to the Cottage Health President and CEO Ron Werft, or a current board member, to express their interest in joining. From there it would go to the Cottage Board Governance Committee. Prospective board members should have a passion for the health care mission and ideally have experience serving on not-for-profit boards. Skill sets we look for include legal, academic, finance, medical, large corporation, and community not-for-profit experience.
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