Hefner to leave Georgia Regents, replacement search begins

David Hefner will relinquish his post as CEO of Georgia Regents Medical Center and Medical Associates effective June 30, the Augusta-based organization announced.

Hefner also will step down as executive vice president of clinical affairs for Georgia Regents University. A national search for a permanent replacement has begun.

Hefner will be leaving the Augusta area but “will continue to work in a strategic capacity on behalf of GRHealth,” the medical center said in a news release. Hefner joined what was then known as MCG Health Systems in 2011 as executive vice president of clinical affairs.

He had served as senior adviser of the Association of American Medical Colleges and was president of the University of Chicago Medical Center as well as executive director and chief operating officer for Penn State's Milton S. Hershey (Pa.) Medical Center. He has more than 30 years of operating and consulting experience.

His accomplishments at GRHealth include signing a 15-year, $300 million alliance with Royal Philips, a Dutch healthcare technology company; the transfer and incorporation of Roosevelt Warm Springs (Ga.) Rehabilitation & Specialty Hospitals, and the launch of GRAChIE (Georgia Regional Academic Community Health Information Exchange), an electronic exchange created with the Medical Center of Central Georgia in Macon.

Dr. Peter Buckley, chair of the Georgia Regents Medical Associates board of trustees, among other roles, will serve as interim CEO of the medical center and the Georgia Regents Medical Associates, as well as interim executive vice president of clinical affairs for Georgia Regents University.

Follow John N. Frank on Twitter: @MHJFrank