The Oktibbeha County Hospital Regional Medical Center Thursday announced a change in hospital leadership.
Formerly the associate administrator and chief financial officer for OCH Regional Medical Center, a position in which he served since 1983, Richard Hilton was promoted to hospital administrator and chief executive officer, following the retirement of A.C. Kelly.
“I look forward to leading this great institution and working with a staff that’s second to none,” Hilton said. “OCH Regional Medical Center has positioned itself throughout the years as an innovative, quality health system. My job allows me to be a part of a facility that gives the best care available in the seven-county region.”
A graduate of Harding University and the University of Alabama, in Birmingham, Hilton is involved with several community organizations, including the Starkville Rotary Club, the Starkville Kiwanis Club and the Greater Starkville Partnership Development, where he serves on the board of directors and as the chairman-elect.
Hilton and his wife, La Rue, live in Starkville and have seven children and eight grandchildren.
Additionally, the OCH Board of Trustees named OCH Controller Susan Russell as the new chief financial officer.
A Starkville native and a graduate of Mississippi State University, Russell has worked at the hospital since 1984.
“I feel honored to be promoted to this position and look forward to working with a team that continues to bring superior medical care to this community,” she said.
And formerly the hospital’s assistant administrator, Mike Andrews was promoted to associate administrator.
Andrews, an MSU graduate, who has more than three decades of experience in the health care industry, has worked for OCH since 1985 and also serves on the board of directors for the Starkville Area Chamber of Commerce Advisory Board and is a member of the Business and Industry Roundtable and United Way.
“This is not something that we’ve allowed to slip up on us and catch us by surprise,” OCH Board Chairman Jimmy Linley said of the recent appointments. “We were blessed that we didn’t have to look outside of the hospital for new leadership. Mr. Hilton, Ms. Russell and Mr. Andrews made this an easy decision, because they are such capable people.”
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