An announcement Monday that Treasure Coast Community Health had appointed Heather Miranda, its executive vice president, as interim CEO left a whole lot of people wondering what happened to long-time CEO Vicki Soule, who had not made known any plans to retire or resign after nearly two decades on the job.

One sentence, apparently added as an afterthought in a different, smaller typeface than the rest of the press release said simply ”Miranda succeeds Vicki Soulé, who resigned as CEO earlier this month.”

Efforts to contact Soule, 73, who was the powerhouse behind Treasure Coast Community Health for 18 years during which it became arguably the most important healthcare nonprofit in our community apart from the county’s two hospitals, were unsuccessful.

She represented TCCH at a charity function on Nov. 6 and made no mention of any plans to suddenly leave her post.  Soule had had at least one meeting scheduled for Monday, Nov. 10, which had to be cancelled after her abrupt departure from the organization.

When a donor called TCCH upset because she had recently given a substantial sum to the organization based upon her personal relationship with Soule, Chief Development Officer Lauretta Farrell reportedly told the donor that TCCH is conducting a nationwide search for a permanent successor.

Treasure Coast Community Health has grown into an organization with an annual budget approaching $35 million, six facilities from Fellsmere to Gifford to South County, and more than 99,000 medical, dental, vision, pediatric and behavioral health visits in 2024, serving more than 28,000 unique patients. It’s a huge employer with a payroll of nearly 500 people.

Under Soule’s leadership TCCH garnered the support of many barrier island philanthropists and foundations, including the John’s Island Community Service League, which has invested in TCCH programs to provide mammograms and cervical cancer screening to low-income residents.

John’s Island residents earlier this year also provided seed money for TCCH’s new pediatric care center which is now under construction adjacent the new TCCH West Center.

The organization is the second largest benefactor of county Hospital District taxpayer funding, with $4.56 million budgeted for seven different TCCH programs this fiscal year. That’s roughly one-sixth of the entire Hospital District budget.

When contacted on Monday regarding the leadership change, Hospital District Trustee Paul Westcott, who communicates fairly regularly with Soule about TCCH programs, said he was unaware of the leadership change and had no idea why Soule might have resigned.

“Vicki’s definitely going to be missed because she’s such a dynamic, forward-thinking leader,” Westcott said.

Soule during her tenure led TCCH through many expansions, and challenges during the Covid pandemic when TCCH stepped in to lead local testing and treatment programs. This fall, TCCH celebrated the September launch of its new West Center on Oslo Road with an October grand opening.

Another of Soule’s major accomplishments was taking over the Gifford Health Center from the Indian River County Hospital District and re-opening it in 2019.

Miranda, who has a doctorate in public health and is not a medical doctor, joined TCCH in 2022 after moving to Vero from Raleigh, N.C. to serve as Soule’s executive VP.

She previously served as Director of Clinical Operations and Interim Health Director for Wake County Health and Human Services, and prior to that worked as health center director for Piedmont Health Services’ federally qualified health centers.

She earned her undergraduate science degree from California State University, Long Beach and became a registered dietician in 2091. She then earned her master’s and doctorate degrees from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and the University of Chicago, respectively.