Waukegan’s Vista Health System Loses Fifth CEO in Three Years as Parent Company Faces Fund Diversion Allegations

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Counting an interim chief, she was the fifth leader to run the system since American Healthcare Systems bought it in July 2023.

Kevin Spiegel, a senior vice president at American Healthcare Systems and a former Vista CEO, is providing interim support, a Vista spokesperson said. The system says Vista Medical Center East continues to provide emergency care and keeps its Level 2 trauma center designation.

For families in Waukegan and across northern Lake County, the change raises a practical concern. Leadership turnover at a hospital already struggling with payroll and unpaid bills can affect staffing, services, and patients’ confidence about where to go for care, even when the doors stay open.

Rodriguez said her focus had been on strengthening the hospital’s operational and financial sustainability and “ensuring the delivery of safe, high-quality, compassionate care” for Waukegan and Lake County. She was named to the dual role in early August, succeeding Kim Needham, who had been named CEO in April 2025.

Her exit follows a payroll problem last month. Paper paychecks issued the week of Sept. 14 bounced, Becker’s reported. Vista said, “The matter was identified as a banking issue and has since been resolved.” Staff had been paid by paper check instead of direct deposit for more than a month, and pay had also been late in March and April.

Employees told the Lake and McHenry County Scanner about the turmoil, but their accounts differed on whether Rodriguez resigned or was removed. Vista has not said.

American Healthcare Systems is at the center of multistate litigation over alleged fund diversion, in which shareholders and affiliated hospitals allege that founder and majority owner Mike Sarian diverted hospital funds. A Nevada case filed by shareholders alleges he controlled payments centrally and moved money into accounts linked to him and his family trust.

Those claims have not been proven, and no court has ruled on their merits. Sarian has denied them and has called the lawsuits an attempt by former partners to take control of his companies. “There’s absolutely no truth to what they’re saying,” he told Becker’s in a report published in June.

Former Vista CEO Bianca Defilippi alleges in court filings that delays in approving payments affected blood products, medications and physician coverage. She alleges those delays contributed to state findings that preceded the hospital losing its trauma designation in February 2024. Her allegations, like the others in the litigation, have not been tested in court.

Other debts appear in court records. A judge ordered the hospital to pay utility ComEd $822,321.51 in July, and ComEd filed a new lawsuit in August seeking more than $1.4 million, the Scanner reported. A buyer of the hospital’s unpaid 2023 property taxes has asked a Lake County court to grant it ownership of the site, a case that remains pending. Property taxes for 2024 and 2025 are also unpaid, with more than $3 million owed.

For now, Vista says the hospital’s emergency department is open, and its trauma designation is active. Anyone with a life-threatening emergency should call 911 and let paramedics choose the destination.

The bigger concern is what could happen if services shrink. When the state revoked Vista’s trauma designation in February 2024, paramedics were diverted to other hospitals in Libertyville or Lake Forest. The designation was restored about five weeks later.

Families with planned procedures or ongoing care at Vista can call ahead to confirm appointments, check that their insurance is still in network, and request copies of their medical records. Patients with concerns about care quality can contact the Illinois Department of Public Health, which licenses and inspects hospitals.

Waukegan Mayor Sam Cunningham said in August that the hospital’s decline was “a devastating blow and a direct result of the corporate failure of American Healthcare Systems.” The hospital also owes the city hundreds of thousands of dollars for water service, the Scanner reported.

Vista has not said who will permanently lead the system or when a new CEO will be named.

Several cases will shape what comes next, including the pending tax deed petition, the ComEd lawsuit and the multistate litigation over American Healthcare Systems. A ruling against the hospital in the tax case could put ownership of the property in question.

For patients, the practical test is whether staffing and services hold steady. Vista has not addressed that publicly beyond saying emergency and trauma care continue, and state officials have not announced any new action tied to the CEO’s exit. MedicalDaily will follow court filings and any Illinois Department of Public Health findings and will update this report as Vista and its owner respond.

Kevin Spiegel, a senior vice president at owner American Healthcare Systems, is providing interim support. Vista has not named a permanent CEO.

Is Vista Medical Center East still open for emergencies?

Yes. Vista says the emergency department remains open and the hospital keeps its Level 2 trauma designation.

Shareholders and affiliated hospitals allege founder Mike Sarian diverted hospital funds. He denies the claims, and no court has ruled on them.

Vista says a September payroll problem, in which paper checks bounced, was caused by a banking issue that has since been resolved.

Call 911 for emergencies, and confirm scheduled appointments and insurance coverage in advance. Patients can also request their medical records and report care concerns to state regulators.