Steven Kitchen, MD, is retiring as CMO of Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany, Ga., hospital officials said.
Dr. Kitchen had served South Georgia residents for 31 years and delivered more than 2,500 babies at Phoebe Putney Memorial before becoming CMO six years ago, officials said.
During his tenure, he is credited with helping to establish and oversee quality improvement teams and leading Phoebe Putney Memorial's transition to a high intensity model for critical care.
Dr. Kitchen will retire at the end of the year, and Kathy Hudson, MD, chief of medical staff, will take on the CMO role, hospital leaders said. Dr. Hudson has served as regional medical director of Phoebe's Hospitalist Group and president of the Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital Medical Executive Committee.
Chirag Jani, MD, an oncologist and Phoebe medical director of hematology and oncology, will replace Dr. Hudson as medical executive committee president next year.