Northeast Georgia Health System on Friday announced a series of staff changes, including a new president for Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville.
According to a press release from the health system, experienced leaders are taking up the roles to guide a few key areas.
John Kueven, who most recently served as a senior vice president with Atlanta-based Wellstar Health System, became president of NGMC Gainesville earlier in December. Kueven oversaw Wellstar's Cobb and Paulding hospitals in his previous role. Prior to that, he served as chief operating officer of Memorial Hermann Katy Hospital near Houston, Texas.
"In his role as president of NGMC Gainesville, Kueven will oversee the hospital’s operations, its New Horizons long-term care centers and mental and behavioral health services provided through Laurelwood," the release reads.
NGHS' chief strategy executive, Tracy Vardeman, is retiring on Dec. 31 after 31 years with the health system. Melissa Tymchuk, the current chief of staff, will succeed Vardeman as chief strategy executive. Tymchuk will still serve as chief of staff as part of the move.
Vardeman helped shaped the trajectory of NGHS through her work, first as the director of planning, then as chief strategy executive.
“Very few people have had an impact on the health of our entire region like Tracy has,” Carol Burrell, president and CEO of NGHS said. “From leading a campaign to get state approval to bring heart surgery to Gainesville in the early 2000s, to pushing the vision of what is now the NGMC Braselton campus throughout the 2010s, to uniting community leaders in the fight against COVID-19 in the 2020s – she has worked tirelessly behind the scenes to improve the lives of many she’ll never meet.”
Tymchuk worked in the Strategic Planning and Marketing division as executive director of strategic marketing before becoming chief of staff in 2017. She has also served in additional interim roles as needed.
Finally, NGHS welcomed Diane Poirot as its new chief human resources officer in August. Poirot most recently served in the same role at Yuma Regional Medical Center in Arizona. She also previously served in human resources leadership with several health systems including CHI St. Luke's Health and Harris Health System in Houston, Texas.
