Herman to step into Vidant Health CEO role July 1 | Eastern North Carolina Now

For Immediate Release:

   GREENVILLE, NC     Vidant Health announced today that Dr. David Herman, current president and chief operating officer, will assume the role of chief executive officer beginning July 1. Dave McRae, current chief executive officer of Vidant Health, will remain with the organization, serving in an emeritus role, while completing the transition of responsibilities.

    "We are excited about this transition," said David Womack, chair of the Vidant Health Board of Directors. "This is a great opportunity to recognize Dave McRae's many years of exemplary service to this organization while looking forward with Dr. Herman and embracing this new age of health care."

    Herman has significant expertise and experience consolidating and integrating physician practice networks, developing formal relationships with national and regional provider groups and building operational structures to serve those relationships.

    "My time with Dr. Herman has affirmed my confidence in him. He is ideally suited to carry on the mission of service that we have all shared through this special organization," McRae said. "In his first months, he has already carried Vidant Health to new levels of success. Although there is so much more to do, his leadership talent and his work ethic give me assurance in his ability to lead Vidant Health."

    As chair of the Clinical Practice Committee and director of the Employee and Community Health Program at Mayo Clinic Rochester, Herman worked to implement a quality framework within the clinical practice and develop programs in the community and in the public school system that address chronic illnesses and diseases.

    Herman said his decision to relocate to eastern North Carolina was based on great potential to unify a system of care that will be critical in the coming years.

    "Few organizations are in the unique position of being able to build a true system of care to address the care needs of the populations they serve," Herman said. "I am truly impressed with the people who make up Vidant Health. Their commitment and capability to serve is unsurpassed. I am confident this team can design, execute and demonstrate a new system of health care to serve the people of eastern Carolina. I am honored and eager to serve in this role at Vidant Health and continue the great work that Dave McRae and his team have built."

    Herman also serves on the board of trustees of Ronald McDonald House Charities, the international charity that sponsors and supports Ronald McDonald Houses worldwide.

    Herman is a native of International Falls, Minn. He received his bachelor's of science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and his medical degree from Mayo Medical School in Rochester, Minn. He completed his residency in ophthalmology at the Mayo School of Graduate Medical Education and was senior staff fellow at the National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md. In 2000, he received a master's degree in medical management from the University of Texas-Dallas.

    "Dr. Herman brings a special combination of talent and drive that blends well with us as a family. We found someone who is a good fit for our organization, and I know he feels the same way about us," McRae said. "His years as a practicing physician, as well as an experienced executive, give him unique insight and strength to carry Vidant Health to greater levels of service and success."

    McRae has served as CEO of Vidant Health (formerly University Health Systems of Eastern Carolina) since 1999. Prior to that, he was president, CEO and chief operating officer of Vidant Medical Center (formerly Pitt County Memorial Hospital). McRae began his health care career as a physical therapist in 1968.

    Contact: Beth Anne Atkins, University Health Systems Public Relations, (252) 847-7735 or beth.atkins@uhseast.com