Dr. William Cooney has resigned from his seat on the Indian River County Hospital District Board of Trustees midway through his four-year term, opening up a spot for someone who wants to serve through December 2028.

“As a result of a number of personal factors and circumstances, I submit my resignation as a Trustee of the Indian River Hospital District. This action is effective immediately as my present time has demands taken up by other matters. I will not be attending any future meetings of the Hospital District and will not be participating in the yearly financial review of agencies which the Board funds,” Cooney wrote.

The surprise announcement came near the end of a live special call meeting of the trustees on June 11 which was scheduled to review funding requests from local nonprofit organizations. Those watching the meeting found out about Cooney’s departure from the board and relocation out of the area at the same time as the trustees who were present.

The timing of the announcement was awkward because the next day, Friday, June 12, was the deadline to file for seeking election to the board in November.

Cooney’s resignation letter was dated May 20, three weeks prior to the vacancy being broadcast, and trustees had a regular business meeting the next day, on May 21, but no announcement of the open seat was made at that meeting.

“Dr. Cooney's resignation was sent via U.S. Mail only,” said attorney Dana McNally, answering questions on behalf of the hospital district staff. “The District did not receive a copy electronically or via email.”

McNally said Cooney’s letter was not received at the district’s office until June 1, 2026, which is why “the resignation was not discussed during the May 21, 2026, meeting. The first publicly noticed meeting after receipt of the resignation was ... June 11, 2026, wherein the Trustees were notified along with the public.”

If the resignation had been public on May 20, there would have been time for interested candidates to file paperwork to run for the last two years of Cooney’s term.

As it is, Gov. Ron DeSantis has the power to appoint someone to fill the seat between now and the election and for the final two years of the term.

The district notified DeSantis of the vacancy on June 1, and by law he has 45 days from that date to appoint someone to fill Cooney’s seat through December 2028. The deadline falls on July 16, so interested applicants should apply as soon as possible.

The governor’s Office of Appointments did not respond by press time to a request for the names of applicants for this post as of Monday. The application form is available online.

It is also possible that DeSantis could decide to leave the seat open for more than two years and not appoint anyone, Hospital District staff explained.

Cooney, 83, a retired orthopedic surgeon with five decades of experience, joined the Hospital District Board of Trustees in January 2023 after winning the November 2022 election, and was re-elected to a four-year term in November 2024. He held seat number seven on the seven-person board. District seats are at-large and not tied to any geographic boundaries.

A Central Beach resident since 2004, Dr. Cooney practiced at Indian River Medical Center from 2006-2015 and served on the IRMC Foundation for four years. Before moving to Florida, he served in various capacities at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. including as professor of Orthopedics, chair of the Division of Hand Surgery, vice president of Orthopedic Surgery and vice chairman of development.

He was editor in chief of the Journal of Orthopedic Surgery and co-editor of the Journal of Hand Surgery and published more than 250 articles on orthopedic surgery techniques. Locally Cooney served on boards at Hope for Families Homeless Center, the Indian River Hospital Foundation, We Care and Whole Family Health.

During his service as a trustee, Cooney constantly advocated for greater access to primary care physicians for all Indian River County residents, regardless of health insurance status or ability to pay.

“It has been a very interesting experience serving on the Board of the Indian River Hospital District, serving the taxpayers and contributing to the community of Indian River County. I was pleased with the result of the future of maternity care within our county and that we have added significant number of primary care physicians and mental healthcare providers. I wish the Board continued success in the future,” Cooney wrote in his May 20 resignation letter.