Atrium Health Navicent President Delvecchio Finley and Dr. Patrice Walker Named to Becker’s Hospital Review’s ‘Black Healthcare Leaders to Know in 2024’ List
Becker’s Hospital Review has named Atrium Health Navicent President Delvecchio Finley and Atrium Health Navicent Chief Medical Officer Dr. Patrice Walker to the publication’s “231+ Black Healthcare Leaders to Know in 2024” list. The national list highlights the work Black leaders and executives are doing in communities across the U.S. to shape patient experience, educate and train the next generation of health care providers, and further equity and inclusion.
“We are proud to extend our congratulations to Delvecchio Finley and Dr. Patrice Walker on being recognized by Becker’s Hospital Review for their work to ensure quality health care is accessible for all, to train the health care workers of tomorrow and to champion equity and inclusion amongst our teammates,” said Atrium Health Navicent Board Chair Starr Purdue.
With more than 20 years of health care leadership experience, Finley joined Atrium Health Navicent in 2021. Raised in public housing in Atlanta, he saw health care as a pathway to serving others and promoting equity for disadvantaged communities. That ideal has encouraged him as he has shaped health care not just in the communities he’s served as a hospital leader, but also on the national level.
A fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, Finley serves as immediate past president of the organization.
He is also a former board member of the American Hospital Association and past chair of the America’s Essential Hospitals Institute. Finley also serves on the boards of several Georgia entities including the Georgia Hospital Association, the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and the Georgia Research Alliance.
Finley has received numerous awards during his career, including being named to Modern Healthcare’s “Top 25 Diversity Leaders in Healthcare” list in 2021 and 2023, and the magazine’s “Watch List” and “Top 25 Minorities in Healthcare” list in 2016. In 2015, he received Modern Healthcare’s “Up and Comers Award” and was named to Becker’s Hospital Review’s “Top Healthcare Executives Under 40” list. He also received the Service Award in 2008, the Distinguished Service Award in 2011 and the Exemplary Service Award in 2014 through ACHE’s Recognition Program, and a Senior-Level Healthcare Executive Regent Award from ACHE in 2007.
Walker was appointed as Atrium Health Navicent’s first black, female chief medical officer in 2019. In her role, Walker has led strategy to eliminate racial disparities in care outcomes amongst Black patients in the areas of maternal and pneumonia mortality, readmission for congestive heart failure, colorectal cancer screening, blood pressure control and central line infections. She has also contributed to significant reductions in hospital-acquired conditions and patient safety improvements.
A board-certified OB-GYN and former associate professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Mercer University, Walker has been included on Georgia Trend magazine’s 40 under 40 list and Becker’s Black Healthcare Leaders to Know list in 2022 and 2023. She additionally is a recipient of The Central Georgia Women of Impact’s Ruth Hartley Mosely Pioneer of Community Advancement Award.
Finley and Walker are 2024 recipients of the James Wimberly Institute of Black History and Studies’ Barrier Breaker Award.
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 their website. The full list with individual profiles of all recognized leaders can be found at Black Healthcare Leaders to Know in 2024.
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 AuroraHealth Care in Wisconsin, Advocate Health is a national leader in clinical innovation, health outcomes, consumer experience and value-based care. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Advocate Health services nearly 6 million patients and is engaged in hundreds of clinical trials and research studies, with Wake Forest University School of Medicine serving as the academic core of the enterprise. 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 155,000 teammates across 69 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 providing equitable care for all, Advocate Health provides more than $6 billion in annual community benefits.