WakeMed names Gintzig interim CEO

WakeMed Health & Hospitals, Raleigh, N.C., has named Rear Adm. Donald Gintzig interim president and CEO, effective Friday.

Gintzig replaces Bill Atkinson, who stepped down in September. His departure came months after the two-hospital system entered into a deferred prosecution agreement to resolve criminal charges relating to overbilling Medicare for cardiovascular care.

The system said last month that Atkinson and its board of directors could not resolve “differences in the future direction of the organization.”

Gintzig retired from active duty in the U.S. Navy on Oct. 1 after serving as rear admiral, senior healthcare executive and acting deputy surgeon general. His positions with the Navy included deputy commander and COO of Navy Medicine East and Navy Medicine West, vice commander for U.S. Navy Reserve Forces Command, and acting deputy surgeon general for the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery.

In the private sector, he has served as CEO for hospitals including St. Thomas Health Service, Nashville; Lutheran General Hospital, San Antonio; and Brazosport Memorial Hospital, Lake Jackson, Texas. He has also served as CEO and senior VP of military and veteran services for United Health Group.

Gintzig's age was not available at deadline. The system said in a news release that it intends to name a permanent president and CEO within the next 12 months.

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