Chattanooga native Thomas H. Ozburn has been named the new chief executive officer of Parkridge Health System.
Ozburn, who grew up on Signal Mountain, will take over Feb. 17 from CEO Darrell Moore, who retires as of Dec. 31.
Ozburn now is the CEO of Nashville-based TriStar Southern Hills Medical Center.
Parkridge Health System includes Parkridge Medical Center, Parkridge West Hospital, Parkridge East Hospital, and its two behavioral health facilities - Parkridge Valley Adult and Senior Campus and Parkridge Valley Child and Adolescent Campus.
Both Parkridge and TriStar are owned by HCA Healthcare, formerly Hospital Corporation of America, the Nashville-based company that manages more than 250 hospitals and freestanding surgical centers in the U.S. and the United Kingdom.
Ozburn has been a health care executive leader for 16 years. His focus on improving patient safety and outcomes won awards - an "A" patient safety rating from the Leap Frog Group for 2015 and 2016 and Leap Frog's "Top Performer" rating on key quality measures in 2014 and 2015. The Leap Frog Group produces annual ratings of hospitals for patient safety and quality treatment.
"Having grown up on Signal Mountain, I am honored to be able to return home and work for such a fine health care system. I look forward to building upon the strong legacy of high quality health care that has been established by the team at Parkridge Health System," Ozburn said in a news release.
The new Parkridge CEO earned a Bachelor of Science degree in health care management from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, a master's in health administration from the University of Memphis College of Health Sciences, and an MBA from the College of Business and Economics at the University of Memphis. He is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.
Before joining TriStar Southern Hills, Ozburn was the CEO at Tri- Star Summit and TriStar Greenview medical centers in Hermitage, Tenn., and Bowling Green, Ky., respectively. He has served as a board member for the Tennessee Hospital Association, the Healthcare Executives Forum of Middle Tennessee, the Nashville Zoo, Men of Valor, the Tennessee Christian Chamber of Commerce, the YMCA of Middle Tennessee, and Soles4Souls.
Contact staff writer Steve Johnson at 423-757-6673, sjohnson@timesfreepress.com, on Twitter @stevejohnsonTFP, and on Facebook, www.facebook.com/noogahealth.