After nearly two decades of leadership roles with Southeast Georgia Health
System, including more than six years as president and chief executive officer,
Michael D. Scherneck retired on January 7, 2022.
Scherneck joined the Health System in 2003 as executive vice president
and chief financial officer. In 2015, he was appointed president &
chief executive officer by the
Southeast Georgia Health System, Inc. Board of Directors.
“I’m very proud to have served the Health System, my fellow
team members, and this community,” said Scherneck. “From the
time my wife, Kathy, and I arrived here in 2003, we have developed a great
affinity for our community. It has proven to be a wonderful opportunity,
both professionally and personally, one for which I will be forever grateful.
Our community is such that we are friends and family caring for friends
and family and I am honored to have played a part in that service commitment.”
During his tenure, Scherneck led numerous initiatives focused on enhancing
the Health System’s ability to provide quality health care to the
communities it serves, including the growth of the Health System’s
affiliated physician practice group, Southeast Georgia Physician Associates.
Scherneck also helped create partnerships, such as Coastal Community Health,
a regional alliance with Baptist Health in Jacksonville, Florida, to share
best practices, optimize resources and achieve greater efficiency, higher
quality of care and better patient outcomes.
A significant highlight of Scherneck’s tenure includes the $142 million
Master Renovation and Expansion Project of its Brunswick Campus, launched in 2018. Along with the expansion of
the Emergency Care Center, which increased the number of treatment rooms
from 35 to 50, the project included 16 new operating rooms for the Surgical
Services department and a new 32-bed inpatient floor. It also included
renovating two existing patient floors, adding a new Parkwood Drive main
entrance and lobby, and a covered visitor/patient parking area.
In early 2019,
COVID-19 became a primary focus for everyone at the Health System. Scherneck worked
with leadership teams to expand the Health System’s intensive care
capabilities; secure necessary supplies and equipment; dedicate resources
for community COVID-19 testing; recruit additional critical care physicians
to the community; and invest in resources to provide more than 50,000
COVID-19 vaccinations to area residents. He also developed collaborative
relationships with the Department of Public Health’s Coastal Health
District to provide testing, vaccination and education events to the community.
“While we have faced a number of challenges, we have accomplished
so very much,” said Scherneck. “I appreciate all the grace
and expertise exhibited by team members during several hurricanes, multiple
Joint Commission surveys, a major construction project and, of course,
the COVID-19 pandemic. What in hindsight may have seemed impossible at
the start was dealt with effectively because of the dedication of our
Board of Directors, medical staff, volunteers and most especially, our
team members throughout both hospitals, Senior Care Centers and our many
physician practices.”
Scherneck added, “I welcome my successor, Scott Raynes, and trust
he will enjoy the same sense of accomplishment and success with which
I have been blessed.”
In addition to his Health System role, Scherneck has served on several
professional and community boards, including the Georgia Alliance of Community
Hospitals, Vizient Southern States, Brunswick-Golden Isles Chamber of
Commerce, United Way of Coastal Georgia, Morningstar Children and Family
Services, Inc., and St. Francis Xavier Catholic School Finance Council.
Additional highlights of Scherneck’s CEO tenure include:
- 2021: Camden Campus earns an A rating for patient safety from Leapfrog
- 2021: Georgia Trend includes Brunswick Campus in its Top Medium Hospital List
- 2021: Brunswick Campus is designated an Advanced Primary Stroke Center
and Camden Campus is designated an Acute Stroke Ready Hospital by The
Joint Commission
- 2017-2021: Georgia Trend includes Camden Campus in its Top Small Hospital List
- 2020: Brunswick Campus is ranked high performing in “Heart Failure”
and “COPD” by U.S. News & World Report
- 2020: Health System receives American Heart Association/American Stroke
Association’s Get With The Guidelines® Stroke Silver Plus Quality
Achievement Award
- 2020: Health System receives LifeLink® of Georgia Workplace Partnership
for Life Platinum Awards for both Brunswick and Camden campuses.
- 2019: Brunswick Campus is designated a Baby-Friendly hospital by Baby-Friendly USA, Inc.
- 2019: Brunswick Campus is awarded American Orthopaedic Association’s®
Own the Bone Program Star Performer
- 2018: Georgia Trend includes Brunswick Campus in its Top Medium Hospital List
- 2017: Scherneck named CEO/Administrator of the Year by the Council on Auxiliaries/Volunteers
of the Georgia Hospital Association.