Who: Donald Gintzig, 56
Appointed to: President and CEO of WakeMed Health & Hospitals, Raleigh, N.C. Gintzig had served as interim CEO since October 2013, taking over for Bill Atkinson, who resigned the previous month after WakeMed entered a deferred prosecution agreement to resolve Medicare overbilling charges.
Previous positions: A retired rear admiral in the Navy, Gintzig held several leadership roles, including deputy commander and COO of Navy Medicine East Coast and West Coast operations, and served in Japan, Haiti and South Korea. He also was CEO at St. Thomas Health in Nashville.
Priorities now: “First and foremost, re-establish relationships among physicians, staff and community. Anytime there's a change in leadership, uncertainty is created. You want to spend time to rebuild trust and assess where the organization is, where it's going and the initiatives that it has.”
On his military experience: “I was honored to be selected as a rear admiral and had an opportunity to go on active duty while our nation has been engaged in the longest war in our history. … The focus is making sure we have robust healthcare where it's needed, when it's needed, but also an active program to keep active forces and their families healthy so they can complete the mission that's required.”
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