Keathley leaving Mount Sinai to head up new Baylor medical center, network

Baylor College of Medicine said it has tapped Wayne Keathley to be president of the new Baylor College of Medicine Medical Center and Health Network, which is likely to open in phases starting in 2014.

Keathley, 62, currently serves as president and COO of Mount Sinai Hospital, a 1,031-bed facility in New York. He will report to Dr. Paul Klotman, Baylor College of Medicine's president and CEO, when he starts his new role in mid-February.

“Wayne Keathley not only understands healthcare in its current state, but where it needs to move,” Klotman said in the news release. “He will ensure that we are able to create a new patient experience and provide the type of innovative care that will position us as a standard for others to follow.”

The Houston-based Baylor College of Medicine Medical Center and Health Network will include a hospital, while the health network will serve as the umbrella organization for the college's clinical programs and collaborations, a Baylor College of Medicine spokeswoman said in an e-mail.

Keathley will be responsible for establishing the timeline to open the medical center. Construction of the medical center began in 2007.

Mount Sinai said that it has named Dr. David Reich, the hospital's chair of anesthesiology since 2004, as the interim president. The hospital plans to conduct a national search and will consider Reich as a candidate to replace Keathley.