A hospital administrator with more than 20 years of health care leadership experience in the Mobile area has been named the new administrator at the University of South Alabama Children's & Women's Hospital.
Owen Bailey comes to Children's & Women's from Infirmary Health System in Mobile, where he was executive vice president for community and governmental affairs. Prior to that, he served 14 years as president and chief executive officer of Thomas Hospital in Fairhope.
"Owen Bailey has an outstanding track record in hospital leadership and he is also highly regarded for his wide range of community involvement," Stan Hammack, vice president for health systems at USA, said. "We think he is the perfect choice to lead USA Children's & Women's Hospital."
"I'm very excited to be joining USA Children's & Women's Hospital," Bailey said. "Over the years, I've had many friends who benefited from the unique services that only Children's & Women's provides to our community. I'm especially impressed with the friendliness, expertise and commitment the employees have to the hospital's mission of exceptional patient care. With the hospital's ongoing expansion, USA Children's & Women's Hospital is moving into a new era, and I'm thrilled to be part of it."
Hammack said Bailey was the clear choice from an impressive field of candidates to replace Dr. Becky DeVillier, who is retiring next month after ten years as the hospital's administrator. "Becky has been a tireless advocate for patient care and for improving the health care experience of patients and their families," Hammack said. "She has presided over a remarkable rebirth of Children's & Women's and the entire community is indebted to her."
Bailey has received numerous awards in the health care industry and in the community, including the 2001 "Up and Comer" Award from the national magazine Modern Healthcare. Other honors include the Young Healthcare Executive of the Year and the Regent's Award from the Alabama Chapter of the American College of Healthcare Executives, the Duncan Turnbull Award for Community Service from the Eastern Shore Ministerial Association, the Sam Walton Business Leader Award from the Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce, and the Dr. L.E. Rockwell Memorial Meritorious Service Award from the Fairhope Rotary Club.
Bailey is chairman of the Southwest Alabama Workforce Development Council and chairman of the Mobile Area Education Foundation board of directors. He is a Fellow with the American College of Healthcare Executives, has served on the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama board of directors, the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce board, and as chairman of the Southwest Council for the Alabama Hospital Association. He serves on several area boards including the University of Mobile, Baldwin County United, Forward Mobile, the Business Council of Alabama, and the Auburn Alumni Band. He is actively involved with First Baptist Church of Fairhope where he serves as a deacon and in Youth Sunday School. He and his wife, Genie, have four children.
A native of Mobile, Bailey holds a bachelor's degree in health administration from Auburn University, where he served as drum major of the marching band, and a master's in health administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
USA Children's & Women's Hospital is among fewer than ten freestanding hospitals in the country dedicated specifically to the health care needs of children and women, offering Mobile's only neonatal and pediatric intensive care units, pediatric oncology and sickle cell outpatient center and high-risk obstetrical care. With more than 2,800 births annually, USA Children's & Women's Hospital is the area's leader in deliveries.
A major, ongoing expansion that will nearly double the size of USA Children's & Women's Hospital is scheduled to be completed in 2013, recognizing the community's validation of the hospital's quality of care and the hospital's opportunity to continue to meet the needs of a varied and growing population.