President & CEO
Scott Raynes, MBA, MA, joined Southeast Georgia Health System as its president and chief executive officer (CEO) in January 2022.
Raised in West Virginia, Mr. Raynes earned his bachelor’s degree in business
administration from West Virginia Institute of Technology, his master’s degree in business administration with a specialization in health care from West Virginia University, and a master’s degree in higher education and counseling from Morehead State University.
Prior to joining the Health System, Mr. Raynes served as president of Baptist Hospitals, Inc. and executive vice president of Baptist Healthcare Corp in Pensacola, Fla. During his tenure he led Northwest Florida and South Alabama’s largest health system, which includes five hospitals and residency and fellowship programs in orthopaedics, internal medicine, primary care, sports medicine, cardiology and anesthesia. The system is a national leader in patient experience with over half of the hospitals in the U.S. visiting for advice and consultation.
Mr. Raynes is a past president of the Tennessee Hospital Association and a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives. He has served on many local boards of directors and held several volunteer roles in communities where he has lived.
Chief Medical Officer
A board-certified internal medicine physician with more than 20 years of experience, Alan K. Brown, MD, joined the Southeast Georgia Health System medical staff in 2019 to serve as medical director of the Hospital Medicine program. Additionally, he serves as the Chief, Department of Medicine, on the Brunswick
Campus. He assumed the role of Chief Medical Officer (CMO) on March 1, 2021.
As CMO, Dr. Brown provides administrative oversight for the Quality and Patient Experience departments, ensuring optimal quality performance and exceptional patient experience. He also collaborates with the Health System’s medical staff and hospital leadership teams to facilitate team work, maintain open communication and establish best practice standards.
Prior to joining the Health System, Dr. Brown served as regional medical director of Hospital Services at Phoebe Putney Memorial, Phoebe Sumter Hospital and Dorminy Medical Center. He also managed the hospitalist programs at Colquitt Regional Medical Center and Coffee Regional Medical Center until they transitioned to self-run programs.
A Georgia native, Dr. Brown earned his medical degree from Medical College of Georgia and completed his internal medicine residency at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. He also received a Physician’s Executive Masters in Business Administration from Auburn University in Alabama and an undergraduate degree from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.
Chief Nursing Officer
Cynthia Gamache serves as Chief Nursing Officer for Southeast Georgia Health System. Her responsibilities involve oversight of nursing practice and clinical care in Ancillary and Patient Care Services, which includes Nursing departments, Radiology, Laboratory, Rehab Therapies, Respiratory/Sleep Lab and Wound Care.
Functioning in health care leadership roles for 30 years has provided her with a
broad perspective on patient safety, clinical operations and health system strategies. Ms. Gamache has a passion for fostering unwavering advocacy along with high-reliability performance in order to advance clinical excellence and she has presented at both national and international conferences on these topics.
She holds a doctorate in business administration from Northcentral University, and her doctoral research efforts focused on the science of high reliability with attention to linkages between leadership and patient care outcomes. Ms. Gamache earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Connecticut and her master’s degree in organizational administration from MidAmerica Nazarene University. In addition, she holds the Nurse Executive Advanced - Board Certified credential from the American Nurses Credentialing Center.
Ms. Gamache and her husband, Tom, are originally from New England and now reside in Waverly, Georgia.
Vice President and Administrator, Camden Campus
Glenn Gann, RN, MSN, Vice President and Administrator, Camden Campus, is administratively responsible for Southeast Georgia Health System's Camden Campus. In addition, he provides oversight for the Strategic Planning and Business Development function for the Health System and for the Brunswick Campus Emergency Care Center.
Mr. Gann joined the Health System in January 2017, serving as Director, Patient Care Services, Brunswick Campus Emergency Care Center, where he successfully focused on service, patient experience, improved throughput and staff retention. He’s worked closely with the Health System’s Facilities and construction teams to coordinate the renovation and expansion of the Emergency Care Center.
Mr. Gann is also active in promoting the health and wellness of the community, especially underserved populations. A “graduate” of Leadership Glynn, Mr. Gann established himself with law enforcement, first responders and community organizations, representing the Health System during what have proven to be some very challenging times. Those organizations include the Southern Regional Community Collaborative (RCC), Glynn County Homeless Coalition, Family Connections, Project Hope and Coastal Georgia Area Community Action Authority.
By coordinating with these resources, Mr. Gann has made great progress in building community collaboration, encouraging cooperation by removing barriers and helping to provide more services to our in-need population. In 2018, the Southern Regional Community Collaborative honored Mr. Gann as Partner Champion at their Second Annual RCC Celebration at the Chatham County DFCS office in Savannah, Georgia. The award recognized his instrumental contributions in creating and launching an online, free website that lists resources and providers who offer mental health services.
Chief Human Resources Officer
Richard “Rick” Grooms Jr., SPHR, joined Southeast Georgia Health System as its chief human resources officer in June 2022. His areas of responsibility include Human Resources, Organizational Development and Education, Clinical Education, and Health Promotion & Wellness.
Mr. Grooms has more than 30 years of human resources experience within the health care industry. Prior to joining the Health System, he served as senior vice president and chief people officer at Centra Health, a five-hospital health system with 7,500 employees headquartered in Lynchburg, Virginia. Before Centra Health, Mr. Grooms was chief human resources officer at AnMed Health in Anderson, South Carolina.
In addition to extensive executive level experience, Mr. Grooms has successfully achieved many accomplishments throughout his career. They range from implementing organizational and leadership development programs, initiating team driven cultural enhancement programs, enhancing health plan benefit designs, to executing recruitment and retention programs and new talent acquisition performance management systems.
Mr. Grooms earned his Bachelor of Science in business administration from The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina. He received a Master of Arts in public administration and management from Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas, and he also holds a National Society for Human Resources Professionals Senior Certification (SPHR). Additionally, Mr. Grooms enjoys being heavily involved in the community through volunteering and by serving on and leading various boards.
Vice President, General Counsel & Governmental Affairs
Christy D. Jordan joined Southeast Georgia Health System’s legal department in 2012, served as the Director of Risk Management and Assistant General Counsel from 2012 to 2014, and has served as the Health System’s Vice President, General Counsel/Government Relations since 2014. In that role, she provides legal advice to Health System management and its Boards, oversees the Legal, Compliance, Risk Management, Medical Staff Services and Managed Care departments and coordinates the Health System’s legislative and government affairs activities. In addition to these responsibilities, Ms. Jordan served as Chief Operating Officer from 2018 to 2020, providing operational leadership for ancillary clinical services, general support services and the Camden Campus during leadership transitions.
Prior to joining the Health System, Ms. Jordan was in private practice for eight years with nationally recognized health law practices, most recently with Arnall Golden Gregory, LLP. She has represented hospitals and health systems, hospice and long-term care providers, home health agencies, durable medical equipment suppliers, physician groups, private investors and other institutions that invest in or support the healthcare industry. Ms. Jordan is also licensed as a registered nurse, a background that gives her a unique perspective and understanding of health care legal and legislative issues.
Ms. Jordan was named to Georgia Trend Magazine’s “Legal Elite” for Healthcare Law in 2017 and to the Becker’s Hospital Review 50 Healthcare Leaders Under 40 in 2016. She has served as President of the Georgia Academy of Healthcare Attorneys and is currently on the Executive Committee of the State Bar of Georgia’s Health Law Section. She is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives, the American Health Lawyers Association and the Georgia State Bar and participated in the Leadership Southeast Georgia program in 2017. Ms. Jordan is also an Emeritus Board Member of Hospice of the Golden Isles and is a frequent speaker to community and legal groups on health care issues, recently appearing on Bloomberg News to discuss COVID-19 vaccine distribution in Georgia and on National Public Radio to discuss the impact of hurricanes on health care in coastal communities. Ms. Jordan received her undergraduate degree from the Medical College of Georgia and her Juris Doctorate from the University of Georgia School of Law.
Chief Growth and Strategy Officer
Chris Locke joined Southeast Georgia Health System as Chief Growth and Strategy Officer in November 2, 2022. Mr. Locke has extensive executive experience in the health care industry, primarily working in the areas of strategy, growth and business development. In his role with the Health System, Mr. Locke is responsible for growing the Health System’s service lines and enhancing points of access to care throughout the region.
Additionally, he aids in establishing partnerships and relationships with the various employers, constituents and other health care service providers throughout the communities the Health System serves.
Before joining the Health System, Mr. Locke was the Director of Business Development Central Division of the United States for Acadia Healthcare Corporate in Nashville, Tennessee. Prior to that, he served as the Vice President of Business Development and Executive Director of Physician Services for NorthCrest Health Inc. in Springfield, Tennessee, and was the Chief Operating Officer of Physician Partners Group located in Nashville, Tennessee.
Mr. Locke earned his bachelor’s degree in Healthcare Organization Leadership from Bethel University, McKenzie, Tennessee, and a master’s certificate in Six Sigma Healthcare from Villanova University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Vice President, Service Excellence
Stephanie Moseley Stark, DBA, joined Southeast Georgia Health System as its vice president of Service Excellence in July 2022. Her areas of responsibility include Service Excellence, learning and development and performance improvement.
A transformational leader who understands the importance of organizational culture in achieving strategic goals, Dr. Stark has over 20 years’ experience in developing successful patient, employee and provider service excellence programs that engage team members and ensure the consistent delivery of patient-centered care. In addition, Dr. Stark has a proven track record of developing leadership and staff development programs that bolster learning and yield impressive outcomes.
Prior to joining the Health System, Dr. Stark served as system director of customer experience & chief learning officer at Baptist Memorial Health Care Corporation in Memphis, Tennessee, a 22-hospital health care system with 19,500 team members. Prior to this role, Dr. Stark served as the executive director of customer experience for WellStar Health System. In addition, Dr. Stark has held an adjunct professor position at Baptist College of Health Sciences since 2013.
Dr. Stark earned her Doctor of Business Administration in Human Resource Management at Capella University in Minneapolis, Minnesota, a Masters of Business Administration at Regis University in Denver, Colorado, and a Bachelor’s of Arts in Business/Economics and International Relations from Agnes Scott College. Her professional affiliation memberships include the American College of Healthcare Executives and Senior Profession Human Resources.
Vice President, Support Services
Stanford “Tripp” O. Stephens III joined Southeast Georgia Health System in 2009 as a facility manager. He steadily progressed to leadership roles with increased responsibilities and was promoted to director of Facilities Management in 2013. Stephens was appointed vice president, Support Services, in 2019.
In addition to overseeing the completion of the Health System’s Brunswick Campus Master Renovation and Expansion Project, Stephens’ areas of responsibility include Central Transportation, Clinical Engineering, Environmental Services, Facilities Management, Food & Nutrition Services, Laundry & Linen, Project Management, Property Management and Safety & Security.
Prior to joining the Health System, Stephens was employed with Sumter Regional Hospital (now Phoebe Sumter), where he served as a maintenance technician before advancing to assistant director of Plant Operations. In 2007, Sumter Regional Hospital was completely destroyed by an EF-3 tornado. Stephens was heavily involved in their mitigation and recovery efforts and oversaw the construction of the interim replacement hospital.
Originally from Montezuma, Georgia, Stephens earned his bachelor degree in Business Administration from Georgia Southwestern State University. He is a Certified Healthcare Facility Manager, a Certified Healthcare Constructor and a Certified Healthcare Environmental Services Manager. He also holds the Senior Designation of the American Society for Healthcare Engineers. Stephens was awarded Engineer of the Year in 2010 by the Georgia Society for Healthcare Engineers and Emerging Regional Leader in 2012 by the American Society for Healthcare Engineering (Region 4), a division of the American Hospital Association. He currently serves as a Commissioner for the Brunswick-Glynn Joint Water & Sewer Commission, and previously served on the Keep Golden Isles Beautiful board. In addition, he previously held leadership positions for both the Georgia Society for Healthcare Engineers and the Georgia Association for Healthcare Facility Managers.
Vice President, Physician Practices, Cooperative Healthcare Services, Inc.
Relocating to the Golden Isles from Louisville, Kentucky, Katie Wood brings to the Health System more than 20 years of progressive responsibility and leadership in physician recruitment, regional network referral development and operations of large hospital-owned multi-specialty practice.
Ms. Wood began her career with Jewish Hospital and St. Mary’s Healthcare in Louisville, Kentucky as a flight paramedic/communications specialist. After earning her Bachelor’s degree in Business from the University of Louisville, Ms. Wood began working in the area of physician- hospital development as a Physician Recruiter. She quickly assumed additional responsibilities serving as Director of Physician Recruitment for the multi-hospital system and was promoted to Assistant Vice President of leading the Regional Physician Relations strategy. With the changing health care environment, Ms. Wood assumed the role of Vice President and developed a hospital-owned physician enterprise consisting of over 300 providers working in 70 locations.
As Vice President of Physician Practices for Cooperative Healthcare Services, Inc., a strategic affiliate of the Health System, she will oversee the growing number of physician practices that are part of the Health System, which has grown to more than 100 practitioners and will continue to expand as we recruit more physicians to serve the needs of our community.