Nashville, Tenn.-based Saint Thomas Health named Andy Wachtel CEO of Saint Thomas DeKalb Hospital in Smithville, Saint Thomas Stones River Hospital in Woodbury and Saint Thomas Highlands Hospital in Sparta, all in Tennessee. He assumes his new role on Oct. 10.
Mr. Wachtel most recently served as CEO of Alliance Health located in Ponca City, Okla., where he oversaw Alliance Health Ponca City hospital and Alliance Health Blackwell hospital. Prior to that, he was COO at Deaconess Hospital, Oklahoma City. He holds a master's degree in public health from the University of Oklahoma Health Science Center in Oklahoma City.
"Our regional hospitals and the communities they serve are vitally important to us," said Karen Springer, president and CEO of Saint Thomas Health, in a statement. "We are concerned with maintaining and expanding local access to healthcare for the people of Cannon, DeKalb and White Counties and continuing to improve and enhance the quality of that care. We took great care in selecting the new leader for these hospitals."