Emory graduate returns to Georgia to lead Navicent as new CEO, president

Atrium Health announced Thursday that an Emory graduate will serve as the next president and CEO of Atrium Health Navicent.

Delvecchio S. Finley, CEO for Alameda Health System based in Oakland, California for the past five years, is expected to assume his new role Feb. 1.

He succeeds Ninfa Saunders.

Finley’s initial focus will be to continue efforts to provide treatments and resources during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an Atrium Health news release. He’s also expected to continue the hospital system’s integration with Charlotte, North Carolina-based Atrium Health.

“As a nationally recognized leader in the healthcare field with a passion for caring for underserved, vulnerable populations and for rural communities, we are looking forward to him joining us as we continue to improve health, elevate hope and advance healing — for all,” Atrium CEO Eugene Woods said in the release.

Finley is credited with turning around the Alameda Health System, having reversed a $60 million operating loss into a $27 million gain his first year alone, according to the release. Alameda Health System is a nine-site system with more than $1 billion in annual revenues.

“I am deeply honored to have the opportunity to join and lead Atrium Health Navicent and further its traditions of providing high-quality care for the community, while being part of Atrium Health, one of the nation’s leading health systems,” Finley said in the release. “With Atrium Health Navicent being a safety-net health system for central and south Georgia, I look forward to advancing its many accomplishments and collaborating with partners throughout the community in the future. The ‘for all’ mission and approach to compassionate care resonates deeply with me, and I cannot wait to get started.”

Finley serves on the American College of Healthcare Executives Board of Governors. He is also a board member for the American Hospital Association, a member of the Council on Healthcare Spending and Value and the immediate past-chair of the America’s Essential Hospitals Institute.

He is a graduate of Emory University.

Finley and his wife and daughter are expected to relocate to Macon in the new year.