Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger has tapped cardiologist Dr. Mitch Mutter and accountant Warren McEwen to serve on the Erlanger Health System Board of Trustees.
The new trustees replace outgoing trustees Jim Sattler, who resigned last month due to his health, and Steve Angle, who resigned in July 2020 to focus solely on his role as chancellor of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
The Hamilton County Commission is scheduled to vote to officially approve the appointments during next week’s commission meeting.
Coppinger said that he chose Mutter and McEwen for their “integrity” and experience.
“Warren [McEwen] comes with a tremendous amount of financial background, and the hospital can always use people who understand finances. He’s also served on a hospital board before, so he comes to the table ready to work day one,” Coppinger said. “With Dr. Mutter, he’s a well-respected physician and has been for decades here in Hamilton County. Also what made him very attractive is the work he’s done on the state level for [former] Gov. [Bill] Haslam.”
McEwen was a partner with the Hazlett, Lewis & Bieter accounting firm from 1983 to 2018 and provided executive leadership as partner in charge of the Chattanooga office from 2013 – when the firm merged with Atlanta-based Mauldin & Jenkins – until 2017, according to a copy of his resume.
Previously, McEwen served as chairman of the Parkridge Medical Center advisory board, was a member of the UTC business dean advisory board and was treasurer of the Rotary Club of Chattanooga. He’s also a lecturer at UTC.
Mutter received his medical degree in 1972 from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis and completed his residency and cardiology fellowship at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, according to his resume.
He began practicing cardiology in Chattanooga in 1992 and was chief of staff at Erlanger from 2004 to 2007. Mutter left active cardiology practice in 2012 and joined the Tennessee Department of Health. He continues to treat cardiology patients with Volunteers in Medicine, where he serves as medical director. In addition, he’s known for founding the Children’s Nutrition Program of Haiti.
McEwen said Chattanoogans are known for their commitment to community service, and he feels ready and prepared to step into his new role.
“Community service is great here. We have a great way of working together to get things done,” McEwen said. “There are always challenges in health care, due to the ebbs and flows of how our health system works, but I’m excited to be a part of this community and make it as good as we can make it.”
Mutter said Erlanger is “such an important hospital in our community” and that “having physicians on the board is critical.” He said the pandemic only made him feel more called to serve on the board.
“The board is very dedicated, and they’ve gotten through some major hurdles, but obviously Erlanger has more to go to get over with the pandemic,” Mutter said. “I think we all have to step up.”
Contact Elizabeth Fite at efite@timesfreepress.com or follow her on Twitter @ecfite.