Griffin named CEO; Rowell to chair board
News Staff Report
Escambia County Healthcare Authority’s recent reorganization of its health system has resulted in the naming of Chris Griffin as the authority’s chief executive officer.
Griffin will have the overall responsibility for all the Authority’s operating entities: Atmore Community Hospital, including its clinics and home health agency; D.W. McMillan Memorial Hospital and its clinics, as well as D.W. McMillan Emergency Medical Service and D.W. McMillan Home Medical Equipment.
The new CEO has been a part of ECHCA since 2003, serving as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Office for D.W. McMillan Memorial Hospital, where he was named administrator in July 2008.
Prior to joining D.W. McMillan, Griffin served in several financial and leadership positions with wood products manufacturer Weyerhaeuser, Bellsouth Business Systems and the international accounting firm of Price Waterhouse.
Griffin, a certified public accountant, received his undergraduate degree in 1983 from the University of Alabama School of Business.
His promotion creates a vacancy in the administrator’s office for D.W. McMillan in the near future.
Officers elected
ECHCA officials also announced that officers for the upcoming year were elected during the Authority’s March 28 meeting.
Debbie Rowell will replace Ruth Harrell as chair; Sharon Davidson will replace Rowell as vice-chair; and Nancy Lowrey will replace Don Ward as treasurer.
Both Harrell and Ward will continue to serve as ECHCA board members.
Rowell has been serving on the board since 2013 as the District 3 appointment. She resides in Atmore, where she is a real estate broker.
Davidson has been a member of the board since 2016, as the at-large appointment for the Brewton area. She lives in Brewton, is a registered nurse and has previously served as a nursing instructor at Coastal Community College, director of a local hospice agency and as a nurse at D.W. McMillan.
Lowrey has served on the board since 2009 as an at-large appointment for the Atmore area. She resides in Atmore and is a founding partner of FS Advisors, for whom she serves as president and CEO.