After a ten-month search, the Northeast Georgia Health System Board of Trustees has announced its next CEO to fill the shoes of the retiring Carol Burrell.
A release from the health system Thursday said Matt Hanley will assume the role in April 2025. Hanley has a more-than 20-year career in the medical field and currently works as the Market President of St. Louis-based Navvis Healthcare.
"Matt was selected after an exhaustive national search that yielded dozens of impressive candidates," NGHS Board of Trustees Chair Spence Price said. "Carol has graciously agreed to continue to serve until Matt's targeted start date of April, which will give us time to open Northeast Georgia Medical Center Gainesville's new Green Tower in February and work through a detailed plan to ensure a smooth transition."
Hanley, who has degrees from College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts and Duke Univeristy, began his career as an emergency medicine physician at Centra Health in Virginia before moving on to Atrium Health in Charlotte, North Carolina where he would eventually become chief medical officer. He later served as chief clinical officer and interim president for the Wisconsin branch of SSM Health. He took his current position with Navvis Healthcare in 2022.
"Words can't explain how blessed I feel to join NGHS," Hanley said. "I look forward to sharing my experience leading and working in large, multi-state health systems to help guide NGHS as it continues to expand to meet the needs of the growing area."
In Thursday's release, Burrell also expressed her support for Hanley's selection.
"I believe the board chose the best person for the job, and I'm very impressed with Matt as both a leader and a person," Burrell said. "I will no doubt miss the people I've worked with during the past 25 years, but I'll leave in April knowing the organization is in great hands."
NGHS has grown from a single hospital in Gainesville to a total of five hospitals across the region in Burrell's tenure as CEO and, according to information released Thursday, estimates an annual economic impact on the local and state economy of $7.5 billion.
An exact date in April for Hanley's start as the new CEO was not formally announced.
