New AdventHealth exec eager to become part of community
DBell@CalhounTimes.com
Michael Murrill, the new president and chief executive officer of AdventHealth Gordon, AdventHealth Murray and the Southeast Region, said his move from the medical group’s Chicago location to Calhoun almost didn’t happen because of travel restrictions that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Murrill wanted his wife, Melissa, and sons, 12-yearold Mason and 10-year-old Max, to be able to see Calhoun and Gordon County along with him, since moving from a big metropolitan area to a more rural community would make for a huge lifestyle change for all of them.
“From a family standpoint, we really wanted to make a change like this, and in our minds it wasn’t just a stop along a path to somewhere else. If we’re going to make a move like this, we really want to invest and embed into a community, and so we don’t want to take that lightly, so it was really important for us all to be here and see it and experience it,” he said.
Now that they’ve made the move, Mason and Max have ordered fishing poles and snake hooks, eager to explore the great outdoors and take on some new hobbies. And Melissa is excited to find ways to get involved locally.
“We’re looking forward to experiencing the community and we’re excited to be a part of the area,” Murrill said. “We’re here to connect and invest in the
ADVENT,
community and we want to be a part of this community and the broader community, and not just AdventHealth Gordon and Murray communities, but the broad Calhoun and Chatsworth communities, the communities that we’re in.”
The new executive has worked in health care for 18 years, beginning at AdventHealth’s Denver location for six years, and then the next 12 years in Chicago. Though his family had never really considered living in the south previously, once they came down for a visit Murrill said they felt confident right away that this was the place they wanted to be.
Murrill also believes the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted health care in other ways that will likely be permanent, such as an increase use of telemedicine. He said society has adapted quickly over the past four months to the new normal, but things like masks and social distancing are going to be around awhile.
“I don’t think COVID is