Without a chief operating officer position or other deputy waiting in the wings, the American Health Care Association will take its search for a new chief executive nationwide, a spokesman said Tuesday. The association’s current president and CEO, Charles “Chip” Roadman, announced his resignation, effective in October, early Tuesday.

Roadman’s departure will coincide with the end of his two-year contract extension, said Alan DeFend, AHCA’s vice president of public affairs. AHCA leaders and Roadman did not discuss terms of another extension before the former Air Force Surgeon General told of his desire to leave late last year, DeFend explained.

“He had signaled leadership some time ago that he would not be staying longer, several weeks ago,” DeFend said. He added that various constituencies within the association would be interviewed to determine what type of candidate should be pursued.

Roadman became AHCA’s president and CEO in October 1999 after a 30-year Air Force career. In explaining his decision not to pursue another contract extension, Roadman said Tuesday that five years “is about the correct length of time for a senior executive to serve and to lead.”