C.J. Gish
UF Health CEO Ed Jimenez advanced to the final four in the Memorial Healthcare System’s search for a new CEO, according to a Memorial announcement this week.
The final round pits Jimenez with University of Missouri Healthcare CEO Jonathan W. Curtright, Erlanger Health System CEO/President Dr. Will Jackson, and Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center CEO/President K. Scott Wester.
One of the four candidates will replace outgoing CEO Aurelio Fernandez, who announced he will retire at the end of April, according to a March 9 release on the health system’s website. The release mentioned the first round of virtual interviews were conducted in mid-March and will be followed by in-person interviews in late March and early April.
UF Health did not respond to a request for comment about Jimenez’s possible departure.
UF Health officially named Jimenez CEO in April 2015 after he served 10 months as interim CEO. His seven-year tenure followed four years as the chief operating officer and executive vice president from 2010 to 2014.
With Jimenez at the helm, UF Health has navigated the COVID-19 pandemic, opened a 216-bed, $415 million heart/vascular and neuromedicine hospital and launched new services in Alachua and Marion Counties.
Jimenez also serves as an associate professor in the UF College of Public Health and Health Professions and an associate adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University.
Memorial Healthcare System, headquartered between Fort Lauderdale and Miami in Hollywood, is a $2.3 billion healthcare network that includes six hospitals, urgent care centers, a nursing home and 14,000 full-time employees.
According to its website, UF Health is a $1.6 academic medical center with almost 11,000 employees.