After more than two decades leading Northeast Georgia Health System (NGHS), its chief executive officer announced her plans to retire, the organization said in a press release Thursday.
Carol Burrell plans to retire within the next year or so. She will continue to serve as CEO until a successor is named.
“Carol is a visionary leader who has always been proactive in anticipating and addressing the community’s evolving healthcare needs, as exemplified by the remarkable expansion of NGHS during her tenure. It is fitting that she is providing ample time for the board to plan ahead and identify her successor before her retirement,” says NGHS Board Chair Spence Price.
A CEO search committee will soon be established to choose a national executive recruitment firm. The committee will then lead the rigorous process to evaluate candidates and ultimately choose Burrell’s successor.
Price calls Burrell a “visionary leader” who can never “truly be replaced.”
“Carol is one of the most respected CEOs in the state, regardless of industry, and the communities NGHS serves have been blessed to have her at the helm,” said Price. “While she can never be truly replaced, we are going to move prudently to find the right leader to continue pursuing the level of excellence Carol has achieved.”
Burrell, a native of Barrow County, began her career as a medical technologist in the late 1970s. After receiving her master’s degree in healthcare administration from Central Michigan University, she served as a vice president at St. Vincent’s Health System in Jacksonville, Florida. In 1999, she returned to Georgia to lead NGHS’ network of primary care clinics. She was eventually named chief operating officer in 2004 and CEO in 2011.
Under Burrell’s leadership, NGHS has grown from one hospital in Hall County to five hospitals across the region, including a Level I Trauma Center. The health system’s impact on the local economy has increased from around $1 billion in 2011 to more than $4 billion in 2021.
“It is an honor to serve NGHS and the communities across our region alongside a team of healthcare workers who bring their best every day. While I am not ready to say goodbye just yet, I am excited about the year ahead as we continue growing the greater good by opening our future NGMC Lumpkin hospital campus along Georgia 400 and multispecialty medical plazas in Dawsonville and Bethlehem this spring,” says Burrell.
This year, NGHS will also break ground on a dedicated rehabilitation hospital and medical office park in Gainesville. The health system will finalize construction on the first phase of its hospital campus expansion in Braselton and prepare to open the new patient tower at Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville.
Says Price, “Carol’s mantra is ‘be better tomorrow than you are today,’ and she’s certainly positioned NGHS and our next CEO well for the future.”
