Brett McClung is the new president and CEO of Jacksonville-based Baptist Health effective July 1.
The hospital group announced Friday that McClung will succeed Hugh Greene, who is retiring after serving as CEO for 19 years.
McClung was executive vice president and chief operations leader for the North Zone of Texas Health Resources, comprising nine hospitals, since 2013.
Texas Health Resources is a faith-based, nonprofit health system with 29 hospitals and more than 24,000 employees.
“We are thrilled to welcome Brett to our health system and our community,” Baptist Health Board Chair Richard Sisisky said in the news release.
“We believe he is the perfect fit, not only in terms of his breadth and depth of experience but also his passion for excellence and his character,” he said.
Sisisky said that the “passing of the torch is of paramount importance to our faith-based mission and culture of care.”
McClung said in the release that he is energized by the faith-based mission, community focus and patient care at Baptist Health.
“I look forward to continuing the positive momentum and partnering with the leadership team, medical staff, team members, Board of Directors and community to accomplish great things,” he said in the statement.
Greene said that he is confident in the future of Baptist Health under the new leadership.
Greene joined Baptist Health in 1989 and has served as president since 2000 overseeing growth on the Downtown Southbank and throughout the region.
Baptist Health, founded in 1955, employs more than 10,000 people, making it one of Jacksonville’s largest employers and the only locally governed health system in the city.
It operates five main hospitals – Baptist Jacksonville, Baptist Beaches, Baptist Nassau, Baptist South and Wolfson Children’s Hospital.
McClung comes into the job as Baptist continues to expand on the Downtown Southbank and beyond Duval County.
In 2018, it opened the Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Center near its Southbank campus. The center is a nine-story, $184 million facility tied to the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.
Baptist is preparing to build a $187 million, seven-story Wolfson Children’s Critical Care Tower, also on the Southbank.
Baptist announced this month it completed the expansion of the Baptist/Wolfson Children’s Emergency Center in Northwest Jacksonville.
The $5 million project added 10 private treatment rooms for adults for a total of 26 exam rooms. It is part of the Baptist North Medical Campus at northeast Dunn Avenue and Interstate 295.
The company also is expanding services outside of Duval County with a $23 million, free-standing 20-bed emergency center at the Oakleaf Town Center.
The facility at Argyle Forest Boulevard and Merchants Way is expected to open in 2020.
That center is in addition to one in Clay County and one near St. Johns Town Center.
In fall 2018,, Baptist announced it was relocating its primary care offices in St. Johns County from Nocatee Town Center to a 12-acre parcel, about 2 miles away, at Nocatee Parkway and Preservation Trail.