Parkridge boss leaving Chattanooga to head Nashville hospital

Staff photo by Olivia Ross  / Tom Ozburn, president and CEO of Parkridge Health System, is shown on July 28.
Staff photo by Olivia Ross / Tom Ozburn, president and CEO of Parkridge Health System, is shown on July 28.

Tom Ozburn, Parkridge Health System's president for the past six years in Chattanooga, has taken the chief executive officer post at TriStar Centennial Medical Center in Nashville.

Ozburn, who grew up on Signal Mountain, said in a memo to the staff at the Chattanooga hospital system that he'll transition into the new role over a 30-day period.

"This timing will mark the completion of six amazing years in Chattanooga working with each of you in the Parkridge Health System," he said in the memo. "My decision to move to this new role was not an easy one. The relationships, friendships, love and support that I have experienced while in Chattanooga have been amazing."

Ozburn said a national search will start immediately to identify the next market president for Parkridge Health.

"I will be available to aid in the process and to help in the transition phase of ensuring that we do not lose any momentum," he said. "I will make myself available to the new market president to ensure our strategies and strategic relationships are maintained."

The hospital CEO said he and wife Lori Mitchell, morning news anchor at Local 3 News in Chattanooga, plan to retain their condo in the city.

In Nashville, Ozburn will replace Scott Cihak, who resigned earlier this month after six years for personal reasons, according to HCA Healthcare.

During Ozburn's time at Parkridge, the health system moved into second place in overall market share in the Chattanooga region, he said in the memo. By the second quarter of 2024, the system will operate six emergency departments with its newest additions at Camp Jordan and Soddy-Daisy, Ozburn said. He added that Parkridge has "significantly expanded our medical staff."

Ozburn cited the Orchard Knob Collaborative, a multi-agency initiative driving change and breaking health care disparities in the community near the McCallie Avenue campus. He said last year he believed that the collaborative could be replicated in other locations in the city and the state.

The CEO was a 2022 Edge magazine Champion of Health Care.

Ozburn said that Parkridge was one of the only systems in Chattanooga to remain open to patients during the surges that occurred during the pandemic.

"We took care of the smaller hospitals in our surrounding area and provided pathways to patients that needed a higher level of care," he said. "This relationship with regional hospitals continues today and will into the future."

Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.

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