HighPoint Health System announced Friday that it has named Susan Peach to replace the retiring Mary Jo Lewis.

HighPoint Health System announced today that Susan Peach, BSN, MBA, a veteran hospital administrator with more than 30 years of healthcare experience, will become its new chief executive officer (CEO) effective July 2, 2012.  Peach replaces Mary Jo Lewis, who has held the position since 2010 and announced her retirement in April.

“We are fortunate to have someone of Susan’s caliber of experience and expertise leading HighPoint Health System into the future,” said Jeff Seraphine, president of the Delta Division of LifePoint Hospitals® of which HighPoint Health System is a part.  “Susan cares deeply about patient, physician and employee satisfaction.  She also has a proven track record of driving quality improvement, growing market share and improving operational efficiency.  Susan has been integrally involved in overseeing and leading operational improvements at HighPoint Health System.  She is the right person to lead the organization moving forward.”

Peach comes to HighPoint Health System from LifePoint Hospitals’ Hospital Support Center, where she has served as chief nursing officer of the Delta Division since 2010.   In that role, Peach has provided clinical leadership and oversight for nine LifePoint Hospitals, including the four hospital campuses of HighPoint Health System.

Without any windup, Becker's Hospital Review presents a list of "130 notable hospital and healthcare system CEOs to know." Here are the locals who made the list:

• Richard Bracken, HCA
• Michael Browder, Essent Healthcare
• Bill Carpenter, LifePoint
• Mary Jo Lewis, HighPoint Health System (though Becker's uses its old Sumner Region moniker)
• Charlie Martin, Vanguard Health Systems
• C. Wright Pinson, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
• Dawn Rudolph, Saint Thomas Hospital
• Dan Slipkovich, Capella Healthcare
• Wayne Smith, Community Health Systems
• David Vandewater, Ardent Health Services
• Carl Whitmer, Iasis Healthcare