Memorial Satilla Health is seeking a Chief Executive Officer following Dale Neely’s departure today (Wednesday, April 30), the hospital announced.
Neely, CEO at MSH since March 6, 2023, is leaving to become CEO at HCA Florida Capital Hospital in Tallah assee, Fla. The Florida panhandle is familiar territory for Neely.
He served as Chief Operating Officer at Florida Capital as well as CEO at Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital in Tallahassee. He departed the latter post to assume the top administrative post at MSH.
HCA Healthcare, the parent company for MSH and Florida Capital, said it already has initiated a search for a new CEO in Waycross. No interim administrator was named until a successor is hired, hospital spokesperson Sarah Gove said.
“It’s been a privilege to lead Memorial Satilla, and work alongside such a dedicated team,” Neely said in the news release for his departure. “I’m grateful for the opportunity and wish the hospital continued success in the future.”
During his tenure at Memorial Satilla, Neely has been instrumental in improving patient satisfaction scores, leading the hospital through the challenges of Hurricane Helene and maintaining quality of care metrics.
Neely served on the Waycross-Ware County Chamber of Commerce board of directors as well as for the Pierce County Industrial Development Authority while in Waycross.
Florida Capital Hospital is a 288-bed, acute-care hospital that serves both Gadsden and Leon counties, according to its website. It has a staff of more than 1,400 employees and 500 healthcare providers.
By comparison, Memorial Satilla Health is a 231bed, full-service hospital with more than 600 employees and more than 300 physicians.
Neely replaces Chris Mosley, who left his role as CEO at Florida Capital Hospital February 21, after a little less than two years in the post. Neither the hospital nor HCA Healthcare provided details of his departure, according to a February 24 report in the Tallahassee Democrat newspaper.
Mosley had been associated with HCA Healthcare properties for more than a decade, the report said.
Originally from Nashville, Tenn., Neely earned his Bachelor’s Degree in physical therapy at University of Tennessee in Memphis, and his Master’s Degree in business administration from Vanderbilt University.
Neely started his healthcare career as a physical therapist with HealthSouth and then at Vanderbilt. He joined HCA as associate administrator at Redmond Regional Medical Center in Rome, Ga.
Neely then served as Chief Operating Officer at Doctors Hospital in Columbus, Ga., before moving to the facilities in Tallahassee.
