Dr. Patrick Battey was appointed sole CEO of Piedmont Atlanta Hospital on Jan. 1, after serving in the role as co-CEO for the previous year.
Battey is the first physician to serve as CEO since the hospital opened in 1905, according to a press release. Physician CEOs make up only 5% of CEOs at hospitals in the country, according to the American College of Physician Executives. Other hospitals with a physician CEO include the Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic.
“We are entering a new era of medicine and will experience more healthcare change in the next three years than we've experienced in the past 25 years,” Battey said in a press release. “Physicians can't continue the same practices as they have in the past—now is the time for physicians and hospital leaders to listen, collaborate and lead.”
Battey led Piedmont Healthcare as interim CEO prior to his co-CEO role, after former CEO R. Timothy Stack died in 2012.
Battey is also a practicing vascular surgeon with Piedmont Heart Institute and he plans to continue his clinical practice in the office and operating room.
The hospital has been recently active in the M&A space. Piedmont is exploring a merger with Athens (Ga.) Regional Health System and also completed a tie-up with community hospital Newton Medical Center in Covington.
