Coliseum Health System has appointed its new chief executive officer, replacing former CEO Allan Golson who was killed in a plane crash in January.

Charles Briscoe, who began his health care career as an associate administrator at Coliseum Medical Centers more than 14 years ago, is the new CEO effective April 1, according to a news release.

Briscoe has served in a number of positions with Hospital Corp. of America, which owns Coliseum Health System, and he was most recently CEO of Lake City Medical Center in Lake City, Fla., the release stated. He has also served as chief operating officer of Grand Strand Regional Medical Center in Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Doctors Hospital in Columbus, Ga.

“Returning to Macon ... represents an outstanding personal and professional opportunity for me and my family,” Briscoe said in the release.

Briscoe graduated from the University of Georgia with a bachelor of science degree and from Georgia State University with a masters in business administration and in health administration.

“We are fortunate to bring Charles back to Macon,” Michael Joyce, president of HCA’s north Florida division, said in the release. “This is an important time for Coliseum, and Charles will be instrumental in leading the organization to continued future success.”

Briscoe and his wife have two children.

Coliseum Health System is comprised of Coliseum Medical Centers, Coliseum Northside Hospital and Coliseum Center for Behavioral Health. Coliseum Health System has more than 1,350 employees and more than 400 active physicians on the medical staff.

Golson, who had been the Coliseum’s CEO for seven years, was killed Jan. 27 when the twin-engine plane he was piloting crashed in central Florida.

Earlier in January, Golson has announced he was moving to Ocala, Fla., to be CEO of a hospital there. Golson and his wife were traveling to Florida to look for a home when the crash occurred. His wife survived the crash.

Information from Telegraph archives was used in this story. To contact writer Linda S. Morris, call 744-4223.