Randolph — The chief operating officer at a health care center in Belfast, Maine, has been named as the new president and CEO of Gifford Health Care.

Dan Bennett, who got his start in Gifford’s accounting department in 1991 after graduating from Saint Michael’s College, most recently worked for eight years at Waldo County Health Care, according to a news release from Gifford today.

He replaces Joseph Woodin, who held the reins at Gifford for 17 years before moving on to a chief executive position at a Massachusetts hospital earlier this year.

Find a full report in Thursday’s Valley News.