Leadership Announcement
I’m honored to join Marsha Rappley, MD in announcing Deborah Davis’s new position with Virginia Commonwealth University Health System Hospitals and Clinics. I would like to extend my congratulations to Deborah and I look forward to working with her.
I am pleased to announce that as of October 1, Deborah Davis will be the new Chief Executive Officer of Virginia Commonwealth Health System Hospitals and Clinics, and Virginia Commonwealth University Vice President for Clinical Affairs. We announced last week that John Duval is retiring from this position as of September 30, 2016.
Deborah’s service as Chief Operating Officer, MCV Hospitals, has been remarkable from the moment she joined the VCU Health System nine years ago after a national search. Deborah was brought to the VCU Health System as part of our succession planning and her performance has been outstanding since she arrived. The care that has been taken to groom her for this position results in a visionary and strategic leader who will accelerate our momentum as a preeminent academic health center.
We will not engage in a national search because we have a robust succession plan that allows me to say, with the greatest of confidence, that a national search cannot bring us a more qualified candidate. Deborah is eminently qualified to assume the position as a nationally recognized leader in health care administration. At the VCU Health System, she has been responsible for the operational planning, policies and overall management of the hospitals – including administration, financial operations, patient care services, support services, clinical services and medical affairs.
Her accomplishments in this capacity are many. Notable among them are superb financial management, oversight of the successful move into the new Critical Care Hospital and the successful design and occupancy of the Children’s Pavilion, design and implementation of the health system-wide STAR Service initiative, and most recently oversight of the development of the Strategic Master Facilities Plan for the medical center campus.
Before Deborah came to VCU, she rose through the ranks over a 30-year distinguished career at University Health Systems of Eastern Carolina, now known as Vidant Health, culminating in the position of President, Vidant Medical Center and Vice President for Corporate Business Development and Innovation. She was highly recruited at that time and it was a major coup to bring her to the VCU Health System.
Deborah holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration from East Carolina University. She also is certified as a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.
Deborah is well prepared for this health system executive leadership and university cabinet position having helped to establish our long-term vision and goals for the organization. We look forward to a smooth and proactive transition as Deborah ably takes over the helm from John Duval.
Please join me in congratulating Deborah on this well-deserved promotion, offering our support and collaboration in the health system’s continued upward trajectory.
Sincerely,
Marsha Rappley, MD
CEO, VCU Health System and Vice President, VCU Health Sciences