Hospital CEO Fonseca leaving

Billy Hobbs, The Union-Recorder, Milledgeville, Ga.
·3 min read

Apr. 21—Luis Fonseca is leaving Atrium Health Navicent Baldwin hospital in Milledgeville as its chief executive officer.

Fonseca, who became interim CEO in November 2022 before being named CEO, made the announcement Thursday. It came at the end of the quarterly meeting of the Atrium Health Navicent Baldwin Inc. Board of Directors held in the executive meeting room at the hospital.

"I have decided to explore a different opportunity at this stage of my life," Fonseca told board members and others who attended the meeting, including The Union-Recorder.

"I will be transitioning. My last day is actually next Thursday."

Fonseca has now sat in on his last meeting as CEO with members of the hospital's board of directors.

"I certainly hope to continue to see you all," Fonseca said. "I do plan to stay local. I am committed to this community. This is it for me. I love it here. And I see that we have some tremendous potential, great potential here."

Fonseca said he is fully invested in what has been happening in the community and what the future holds.

He said he does not doubt that with the team leadership that exists and the great senior leadership that exists at the local hospital, the future looks bright.

Fonseca said he and Delvecchio S. Finley, president of Atrium Health Navicent, had worked together for the last 10 years.

"I've got tremendous respect for him," Fonseca said of Finley. "He is a phenomenal individual and a great leader."

Fonseca said Finley will be stepping in along with other hospital leaders to provide oversight management as the local hospital team continues its operations.

Fonseca said Finley will fill the vacant CEO position.

"Rest assured that he (Finley) shares my passion here at Baldwin and shares my passion for what we're doing, and he shares the same urgency that we're moving things forward," Fonseca said. "And he knows that there is tremendous need, but also tremendous potential here in Baldwin and our surrounding communities."

Fonseca said it has been his privilege to serve with the people he has served with at Atrium Health Navicent Baldwin hospital.

"We've come a long way, and although it may not seem that way, there's still a lot of work to be done, and there's still a lot of opportunity and there are still a lot of things we need to improve on and get better at, but we're so much better than we were three years ago," Fonseca said.

Applause erupted in the board meeting room following his announcement.

"Thank you for what you have done for us and our community," said Dr. Lucretia Coleman, who serves as chairwoman of the Atrium Health Navicent Baldwin Inc. Board of Directors.

After the meeting, Coleman told the newspaper that Fonseca would be missed.

"He has really been a breath of fresh air for this hospital and this area," Coleman said. "That's been good because I think that's something we've been missing. We were just sort of dragging. When you look at the amount of effort that went into the final report, a lot of CEOs would have put just a few things there, but you could tell he worked to get it back to where it once was."

She pointed out that people in the community often talk about the energy level that Fonseca has had in his role and the passion he has for making certain that patients get the best quality health care possible at Atrium Health Navicent Baldwin hospital.

Molly Thomas, who serves as vice chairwoman of the hospital board of directors, also shared comments about Fonseca.

"I think he has done an excellent job," Thomas said. "He's been with us for just a little over a couple of years. He's really pushed our organization forward quite a lot."