Whidbey General Hospital’s new CEO will earn a base salary of $279,000 per year with a potential annual bonus of nearly $70,000, according to a contract to be finalized March 9.

That’s about $100,000 more than the state average for lead executives for critical access hospitals, and about $60,000 more than in neighboring counties, according to state statistics.

“Forbes may receive a bonus of up to 25 percent of her salary if she achieves goals mutually agreed upon by the board and CEO,” said the hospital’s board President Anne Tarrant in an emailed statement to the Whidbey News Group.

“These goals have not yet been determined.”

Geri Forbes, current CEO of Doctors Memorial Hospital, located in Perry, Fla., is slated to step into the job of Whidbey General CEO on April 20.

The hospital’s board of directors is expected to finalize Forbes’ contract on March 9 after a background check is completed, Tarrant said in her email.

Forbes was named as the replacement for outgoing CEO Tom Tomasino, who announced this past summer he would not seek renewal of his contract after it ended in October 2015.

“He was willing to stay on the job until October, or resign earlier if the board found a replacement sooner,” Tarrant said in her emailed statement.

When the board was close to making a hiring decision, Tarrant said Tomasino submitted a letter of resignation giving a new departure date of April 30, or sooner, at the board’s discretion.

Tomasino will be leaving Whidbey General before Forbes starts.

Tomasino will not receive a severance payout, but he will be compensated for accrued leave that he didn’t take, Tarrant said.

There is no separation agreement between Tomasino and the hospital district, Tarrant wrote.

The hospital district does plans to offer Tomasino a consulting contract to assist the transition to a new CEO, Tarrant said, but no specifics have been worked out to date.

Aside from earning potentially $348,750 per year, Tarrant wrote, “Forbes will also receive compensation to assist with moving expenses from Florida and to defray the cost of health insurance coverage while waiting to become eligible for health insurance through the district.”

Tarrant wrote that this is compensation offered physicians relocating to accept positions at Whidbey General.

Forbes’ benefits package includes medical and dental insurance, participation in retirement plans and paid time off, Tarrant wrote.

According to the state Department of Health Compensation Reports for 2013, the latest year in which the information was available, the average base salary for lead executives in critical access hospitals in the state was $169,638.

The average for that year of the five Critical Access hospitals in Island and surrounding counties is $202,919.

Tomasino earned $261,000 in salary and benefits last year.