MaineGeneral Health
Chuck Hays
May 9, 2023
MaineGeneral promotes long-time Maine administrator to CEO post
MaineGeneral Health
Nathan Howell is the president of Southern Maine Health Care in Biddeford.
After a national search for a new president and CEO, MaineGeneral Health has selected a Maine hospital administrator who brings years of experience as a CEO and COO.
Effective July 1, Nathan Howell will replace Chuck Hays, who is retiring after almost 30 years with MaineGeneral.
"Chuck built a culture of excellence and has overseen great change during his tenure here,” said James LaLiberty, chair of the MaineGeneral Health board of directors. “From the transformation of health care delivery in the Kennebec Valley through the COVID-19 pandemic, his inclusive style and encouragement of ground-up engagement and contributions have set MaineGeneral on a path to meet the health care needs of our community for generations to come.
Howell now serves as president of MaineHealth’s Southern Maine Health Care in Biddeford, a position he's held since 2018.
Prior to joining Southern Maine Health Care, Howell was president and CEO of Claxton Hepburn Medical Center in Ogdensburg, N.Y. He was the COO of Steward Health Care in Brighton, Mass., and was the COO of Community Health Systems.
Howell received his bachelor's in sociology from Colby College and completed his master's in managerial finance from Cornell University's Johnson Graduate School of Management.
"We have every confidence that Nathan Howell will continue this legacy and, along with the exceptional staff and leadership at MaineGeneral, will keep us on the path of providing the best possible health care and services to the Kennebec Valley,” LaLiberty said.
Hays joined MaineGeneral Health in 1995 and has served as its president and CEO since 2013. Hays announced his retirement plans in August 2022 and will remain at MaineGeneral during the transition to onboard Howell.
“I look forward to turning the reins over to Nathan in the succeeding months and am happy to be staying here in Maine, where I’ve raised my family and called this community home,” said Hays. “I’m so proud of what we’ve built here together, the quality care that our community members have come to expect from us, and the prospect of continuing to meet the needs of our people into the future.
"We have such an amazing staff, now 4,600 strong. I could not have chosen a better group of colleagues to have by my side. They are like family and I am confident they’ll continue to achieve great things for our community.”
MaineGeneral Health is an integrated, not-for-profit health care system that provides services throughout central Maine’s Kennebec Valley. MaineGeneral’s 198-bed, state-of-the-art hospital in Augusta — the Alfond Center for Health — opened in 2013. In 2014, MaineGeneral completed renovations to transform its Waterville Campus, the Thayer Center for Health, into the largest comprehensive outpatient center in the state.
MaineGeneral Medical Center is No. 7 among the largest hospitals in the state, according to the 2023 Mainebiz Book of Lists. That ranking is based on the number of licensed acute care beds.
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