Phoebe Putney Health System hires new chief executive officer

ALBANY — J. Scott Steiner will become the next president and chief executive officer of Phoebe Putney Health System on March 1.

Steiner will succeed Joel Wernick, who is retiring after 30 years as Phoebe’s top executive.

Since 2007, Steiner has served as an executive with Tenet Healthcare Corporation, a Fortune 500 company based in Dallas, operating 70 hospitals and 470 outpatient centers in 47 states. Steiner currently serves as CEO of four Tenet hospitals in Detroit and previously was CEO of a Tenet hospital in Chicago.

“We were extremely pleased and impressed with the quality of the dozens of applicants from around the country who expressed interest in leading our vibrant and growing health system,” Lem Griffin, chairman of the health system’s board of directors, said. “Our board, medical staff leadership and other leaders in our health system interviewed an outstanding group of finalists and all agreed that Scott is the right person to lead Phoebe into the future.”

Steiner is recognized as an approachable and hands-on leader with a history of guiding organizations known for strong employee, patient and physician satisfaction. Phoebe officials said he has a record of strengthening physician partnerships, building community collaborations and serving as a patient safety champion.

“Phoebe is an outstanding organization with a long and proud history of serving the people of southwest Georgia well. Its impressive, expanding team of highly-qualified physicians and other clinicians brings specialty services and a level of care normally found only in larger metropolitan areas,” Steiner said. “Phoebe is a true comprehensive system with amazing facilities, equipment, technology and employees, and I am impressed with the staff’s commitment to continuous improvement.

“I look forward to joining the Phoebe Family on that unceasing journey to find new and better ways to deliver quality care and build community partnerships.”

Raised in St. Louis, Steiner graduated from Missouri State University before earning a Masters of Business Administration degree with a health services emphasis from Webster University in St. Louis. He began his career in healthcare administration as director of physician network and development for a hospital in East St. Louis, Ill. in 1992.

He and his wife Tracy, a retired school teacher and active community volunteer, will move to Albany soon. They have two daughters, one currently attending medical school and one enrolled in college.

“I am driven by faith and family,” Steiner said. “I look forward to becoming an integral part of the community and enjoying the many wonderful outdoor activities available in southwest Georgia.”

Phoebe is a not-for-profit healthcare delivery system serving a population of more than 500,000 residents in southwest Georgia. It now employs more than 4,300 people throughout the region, operates four hospitals as well as family medicine clinics, specialty physician offices and rehabilitation clinics.

Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital is the system’s flagship hospital, with 691 beds on two campuses. The health system also includes Phoebe Sumter Medical Center, a 76-bed community hospital in Americus and Phoebe Worth Medical Center, a 25-bed critical access hospital located in Sylvester. The health system manages Southwest Georgia Regional Medical Center, a 25-bed critical access hospital in Cuthbert.

Phoebe Physician Group employs more than 300 clinicians who work in Phoebe hospitals as well as 42 clinics in nine counties. The system also includes the Phoebe Family Medicine Residency and is home to the Medical College of Georgia Southwest Campus and the Southwest Clinical Campus of the University of Georgia College of Pharmacy. Phoebe’s main campus serves as one of six designated regional perinatal centers in Georgia.