After 10 years of progressive growth at the helm of Wilkes Regional Medical Center and the successful transition of the hospital to Wake Forest Baptist Health-Wilkes Medical Center in 2017, hospital president J. Gene Faile, FACHE, has announced he will retire from his position on January 31, 2019.
Faile has more than 30 years of experience in health care operations and administration and is a widely respected community leader in Wilkes County. During his tenure at Wilkes Medical Center, Faile served on several boards including Wilkes Community College, Wilkes Chamber of Commerce and The Health Foundation, focused on advancing and improving the health of those who live in the county. At the state level, from 2014 to 2016, Faile served on the Policy Development Committee of the North Carolina Hospital Association (NCHA) representing the interests and needs of hospitals in our region.
Faile and his wife, Peggy, plan to relocate to Raleigh to be closer to their children and grandchildren.
Over the next few weeks, Faile will collaborate with his successor, Chad Brown, MBA, MHA, FACHE, president of Wake Forest Baptist Health-Davie Medical Center, to learn the operations at Wilkes Medical Center and to ensure a smooth transition that occurs on February 1. Brown will also remain president at Davie Medical Center.
Brown joined Wake Forest Baptist Health in June 2014 as Davie Medical Center’s first president and oversaw development of the inpatient hospital that opened in 2017. Under his leadership, the hospital has consistently been a system leader in patient experience.
Previously, Brown served as CEO of Duke LifePoint-Person Memorial Hospital in Roxboro, NC, and as an operational leader at Hospital Corporation of America hospitals in Tennessee, Florida and Virginia. He earned his MBA/MHA at University of Houston-Clear Lake and his undergraduate degree from University of Tennessee. Brown and his wife Jeannine have three children.
Media Contacts
Joe McCloskey: jmcclosk@wakehealth.edu, 336-716-1273
Eryn Johnson: eryjohns@wakehealth.edu, 336-713-8228