The system's COO will be promoted at the start of 2023.
Riverside Health System, a nonprofit system headquartered in Newport News, Virginia, announced on Wednesday that there will be an upcoming transition for the organization's president and CEO role.
The current president and CEO, Bill Downey, will transition to his new role as executive vice chairman and special advisor on January 1, 2023, where he will serve until his retirement in 2024.
Michael J. Dacey, MD, who has served as the system's COO since 2019, will transition to his new role as president and CEO on January 1.
"Bill is a storied health care leader in Virginia whose many accomplishments at Riverside will continue to benefit patients for many years to come. He leaves the entire health system extremely well-positioned for continued growth and excellence in patient and resident care," Darcey said in a statement. "We have an outstanding group of clinical leaders, providers, nurses, and team members with a shared goal of continually improving the patient and consumer experience by delivering high-quality, affordable care."
The leadership moves are part of the Riverside Health System's board of directors' executed succession plan. The board chairman, Gabe Morgan, said that Dacey and Downey's collaboration during the pandemic and over the last five years has set up the system for success.
"Mike has been an incredible asset to Riverside before and during the pandemic in his role as Chief Operating Officer. He and Bill have worked so well together during the past five years, and we know he will take Riverside to even greater success," he said in a statement. "We want to thank Bill for his almost 40 years of service to Riverside. Bill has worked tirelessly to enhance our team members and community engagement. During his 12-year tenure as president and CEO, Riverside Health System has seen significant growth through expansion, and the use of digital technologies benefitting team members, patients, residents, and our communities."
Prior to joining Riverside Health System in 2017 as a chief clinical operations officer, Dacey served as president and COO of Kent Hospital, a community teaching hospital in Warwick, Rhode Island. He previously served as chief medical officer for the hospital.
Prior to that, he served as the chief clinical integration officer for Care New England Health System, a Rhode Island health system that operates Kent Hospital.
Succession planning in action
In a previous interview with HealthLeaders, David Tyler, partner in healthcare advisory services at Grant Thornton LLP, said that being up to date with succession planning is a vital strategy for health systems.
"It's important not just for boards, but for every level of an organization to have some idea towards succession planning," Tyler said. "The C-suite is such a critical success factor for organizations. The continuity that succession planning allows you to have is important."
"If you're proactive, as opposed to reactive, when someone leaves, it's not nearly as emergent of a situation,” Tyler said.
And Riverside Health System is proving they are proactive with this leadership announcement and succession plan.
Melanie Blackman is a contributing editor for strategy, marketing, and human resources at HealthLeaders, an HCPro brand.