Susan Peach, BSN, MBA
Chief Executive Officer

Susan Peach, BSN, MBA, became the new chief executive officer of HighPoint Health System in July 2012.  A veteran hospital administrator with more than 30 years of healthcare experience, Susan came to HighPoint Health System from LifePoint Hospitals’ Hospital Support Center, where she served as chief nursing officer of the Delta Division since 2010.   In that role, she provided clinical leadership and oversight for nine LifePoint Hospitals, including the four hospital campuses of HighPoint Health System.

Prior to joining LifePoint, Susan served as senior vice president, Performance Management, for Catholic Health Initiatives from 2003 to 2010; vice president, Strategic Quality Management and Clinical Services, and system chief nursing officer for Quorum Health Resources from 1996 to 2003; and chief executive officer (1995-1996) and chief operating officer (1992-1995) at Rockdale Regional Medical Center. 

Susan holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Georgia State University and a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing from Clayton College. She is also a Six Sigma Black Belt. Peach and her husband Jim are residents of Sumner County.  

Kevin Rinks
Chief Financial Officer

Kevin Rinks came to HighPoint Health System as Chief Financial Officer in 2013 from Health Management Associates, Inc., a publicly traded, for-profit owner operator of acute care hospitals, where he has worked in a number of CFO and accounting roles since he joined the company in 2005. He served as chief financial officer at Clearview Regional Medical Center, a 77-bed hospital in Monroe, Ga., since 2009. From 2007 to 2009, he was the chief financial officer at Santa Rosa Medical Center, a 129-bed facility in Milton, Fla. From 2005 to 2006, he was controller at University Medical Center, a 254-bed facility located in Lebanon, Tenn.

Rinks earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from University of Tennessee at Martin, and a Master of Health Service Administration degree from Strayer University in Nashville, Tenn. He is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives, Georgia Chapter.

Michael S. Herman
Chief Operating Officer

Mike Herman came to HighPoint Health System as Chief Operating Officer in 2011 from Trident Health System in Charleston, SC.  He spent three years at Trident as Vice President of Operations at the system's 94-bed Summerville Medical Center in Summerville, and brought more than a decade of senior-level operations experience to HighPoint.  Prior to that, he worked for three years as the Senior Operations Analyst at the 242-bed Doctors Hospital of Augusta, Ga., and spent four years at the 278-bed North Florida Regional Medical Center in Gainesville, Fla., where he started as the Operating Department Administrative Assistant and Sterile Processing Tech, before being promoted to Operations Analyst for the hospital.

Herman earned both a bachelor's degree in Food Science and Human Nutrition and a master's degree in Health Administration at the University of Florida, Gainesville.   He is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, and a member of the Gallatin Morning Rotary Club. Herman is also a graduate of Leadership Augusta.

Anne Melton, RN, MSN
Chief Nursing Officer

Anne Melton joined Sumner Regional Medical Center (SRMC) in 2006 as Director of Nursing, and is currently vice president of clinical services. Her 30-year nursing career includes former leadership roles such as director of medical and surgical nursing at Middle Tennessee Medical Center (Murfreesboro, TN) and management at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (Nashville, TN). At SRMC, Melton has served on various clinical safety committees, and most recently she assisted with the transition of patients to SRMC’s new patient tower and with clinical preparation for recent Women’s Center renovations. Melton has also been instrumental in strategic planning for the growth and development of SRMC’s Women’s Services. She provides oversight for nursing services, emergency services, inpatient rehabilitation, women’s services, critical care, and surgical services.

Melton holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from the University of Tennessee, and received a Master of Science degree in Nursing at Vanderbilt University. She is actively involved in various healthcare organizations, including American Nursing Association, Tennessee Nursing Association, and Tennessee Organization of Nursing Executives.

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