Atrium Health Navicent Peach CEO Laura Gentry Named to National 67 Critical Access Hospital CEOs to Know in 2023 List
Atrium Health Navicent Peach CEO Laura Gentry has been named to Becker’s Hospital Review’s 67 Critical Access Hospital CEOs to Know in 2023 list. The leaders recognized in this list have jumpstarted growth, developed partnerships and navigated the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic for their organizations. They’re innovators who have found ways to improve safety, quality, outcomes, service lines, recruitment, retention and more, while expanding access to health care.
Gentry also was recognized on Becker’s Hospital Review’s 80 Rural Hospital CEOs to Know in 2023 list and 107 Community Hospital CEOs to Know in 2023 list.
“Strong leaders like Laura are essential to Atrium Health Navicent’s commitment to expand access to high quality health care for rural Georgians,” said Atrium Health Navicent President Delvecchio Finley. “Thanks to Becker’s Hospital Review for recognizing the efforts of Laura and her team at Atrium Health Navicent Peach to improve health, elevate hope and advance healing for ALL.”
Laura Gentry joined Atrium Health Navicent in 2015 as chief nursing officer at Atrium Health Navicent Peach and became chief executive officer of the facility in March 2018. Atrium Health Navicent Peach has 25 private rooms, 14 emergency rooms, and two trauma rooms. It provides services to Peach County and its surrounding rural communities.
Gentry oversees all aspects of the hospital, including managing the hospital budget, fostering employee engagement, meeting quality and patient satisfaction outcomes, handling contract negotiations and ensuring compliance with hospital certifications and accreditations. She has been influential in building community relationships and supporting community outreach programs, including helping to implement a school-based virtual health partnership with Peach County schools. Gentry also is responsible for the Primary Care Fort Valley Rural Health Clinic.
Under Gentry’s leadership, the hospital has expanded outpatient lab and radiology services, won a quality and patient safety award from the Partnership for Health and Accountability in 2019, and has seen growth in patient visits. In addition, Gentry serves as a regional trustee for the Georgia Hospital Association’s Center for Rural Health and on the executive committee of the Board of Trustees of Central Georgia Technical College Foundation. She began her career in health care as a registered nurse.
Becker’s Hospital review is a source of news and information for health care decision-makers. In addition to a print magazine, Becker’s Hospital Review publishes an e-newsletter with 1 million subscribers and has 3.5 million monthly visitors on its website.
About Atrium Health Navicent
Atrium Health Navicent is the leading provider of health care in central and south Georgia and is committed to its mission of elevating health and wellbeing through compassionate care. Atrium Health Navicent is part of Advocate Health, which is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, and is the third-largest nonprofit health system in the United States, created from the combination of Atrium Health and Advocate Aurora Health. Atrium Health Navicent provides high-quality, personalized care in 53 specialties at more than 50 facilities throughout the region. As part of the largest, integrated, nonprofit health system in the Southeast, it is also able to tap into some of the nation’s leading medical experts and specialists with Atrium Health, allowing it to provide the best care close to home – including advanced innovations in virtual medicine and care. Throughout its 125-year history in the community, Atrium Health Navicent has remained dedicated to enhancing health and wellness for individuals throughout the region through nationally recognized quality care, community health initiatives and collaborative partnerships. It is also one of the leading teaching hospitals in the region, helping to ensure viability for rural health care for the next generation. For more information, please visit www.NavicentHealth.org.
About Advocate Health
Advocate Health is the third-largest nonprofit integrated health system in the United States – created from the combination of Advocate Aurora Health and Atrium Health. Providing care under the names Advocate Health Care in Illinois, Atrium Health in the Carolinas, Georgia and Alabama, and Aurora Health Care in Wisconsin, Advocate Health is a national leader in clinical innovation, health outcomes, consumer experience and value-based care, with Wake Forest University School of Medicine serving as the academic core of the enterprise. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Advocate Health serves nearly 6 million patients and is engaged in hundreds of clinical trials and research studies. It is nationally recognized for its expertise in cardiology, neurosciences, oncology, pediatrics and rehabilitation, as well as organ transplants, burn treatments and specialized musculoskeletal programs. Advocate Health employs nearly 150,000 team members across 67 hospitals and over 1,000 care locations and offers one of the nation’s largest graduate medical education programs with over 2,000 residents and fellows across more than 200 programs. Committed to equitable care for all, Advocate Health provides nearly $5 billion in annual community benefits.