Erlanger Health System has tapped a 20-year hospital manager to serve as the new chief executive of Erlanger Murphy Medical Center.
Mark Kimball, currently the chief operating officer with NorthCrest Medical Center in Springfield, Tenn., will take over on June 4 as head of Erlanger's newly acquired hospital in Murphy, N.C., which Erlanger acquired on April 1. The Murphy hospital, which has 25 acute care beds and about 400 employees, merged with Erlanger this month to become the sixth hospital operated by the Chattanooga-based hospital system.
When the Erlanger Behavioral Health Center Hospital opens in July, Erlanger will have five hospitals in Hamilton County, one in Bledsoe County and one in North Carolina.
Kimball is a rural healthcare executive with 20 years of leadership experience with several prominent healthcare systems throughout the Southeast, including Behavioral Health Center and Select Specialty Hospital in Memphis, Archbold Medical Center in Camilla, Ga. and Phoebe-Putney Health System in Albany, Ga. At Northcrest, Kimball headed overall operations with Houston County Community Hospital located in Erin, Tennessee. In that role he led Houston County Community Hospital to earning its designation of Critical Access Hospital status.
"I look forward to building on Erlanger Murphy Medical Center's strong foundation and helping the leadership team continue to advance the hospital's shared purpose of caring for people's health and wellness across the region we serve," Kimball said.
Erlanger President Kevin Spiegel said Kimball "is ideally suited for this position at our newest hospital," said Spiegel.
"He has longtime ties to this region and we look forward to introducing him to the staff, physicians, business leaders and the community next month," Spiegel added.
Kimball received a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Georgia and earned a Master's in Business Administration. He is board-certified in healthcare management and a fellow with the American College of Healthcare Executives and a licensed nursing home administrator.