Erlanger and CEO Will Jackson part ways
Erlanger Health System President and CEO Dr. Will Jackson’s tenure at Chattanooga’s largest health system ended Friday, according to a statement from the board of trustees.
The board will begin exploring options for a new CEO while Chief Operating Officer Rob Maloney, Chief Administrative Officer Gregg Gentry and Chief Financial Officer Lynn DeJaco take over hospital leadership in the interim.
“Dr. Jackson has served Erlanger with distinction for six and a half years, the last three as president and CEO, and the board appreciates there are other opportunities for which Dr. Jackson is well-suited to advance his career in the industry,” the statement said. “(The board) is grateful for
Dr. Jackson’s work and important contributions over the last two years as Erlanger has navigated the global pandemic and worked to improve its financial position.”
In an email response to Chattanooga Times Free Press questions on Friday, trustees said that it was a mutual decision to part ways with Jackson before his two-year contract was set to expire in September.
They also said the decision to appoint a three-person interim team over a single person was because “we have a strong management
team with excellent collective experience and knowledge of Erlanger, the communities we serve and our patients.”
Erlanger will continue to pay Jackson his base salary through January 2023, in addition to roughly $80,000 in benefits and $236,000 in incentive compensation on the next regular payday, according to a copy of Jackson’s separation agreement provided by the board.
The health system will also continue to fund Jackson’s health insurance through January or until he gets a new job, whichever comes first.
The board will officially approve the agreement at its next public meeting, according to the response.
“When separations are by mutual agreement, it is standard and ordinary course for the board of trustees to ratify separation agreements and interim plans at a subsequent board meeting where official business is scheduled,” the response said.
Jackson declined to comment on the separation via a spokesperson.
In April, Jackson was one of four finalists in the CEO search for one of South Florida’s largest public hospitals, but another candidate was ultimately chosen for that role.
Jackson, Erlanger’s former chief medical officer, became Erlanger’s CEO in September 2019.
He was initially awarded a one-year contract with a $625,000 base salary and received another $50,000 for meeting a set of goals around restructuring the hospital’s management and improving physician relations.
At the time, the board said promoting an internal candidate with a oneyear contract rather than appointing an interim and undergoing a new CEO search would lead to greater stability and also save money.
The board then approved a new, twoyear contract with Jackson in June 2020.
In October 2021, the board bumped Jackson’s annual salary up from $625,000 to $806,000.
Jackson’s predecessor, Kevin Spiegel, began at Erlanger in 2013 making $680,000 per year base salary with a $50,000 sign-on bonus, according to a copy of his former contract.
Unlike Jackson, who had never held a CEO position, Spiegel came to Erlanger with experience as CEO at Methodist Healthcare in Memphis.
By the time of his departure, Spiegel’s base salary was $964,000, and he received a full year’s salary plus benefits as severance.
Under Jackson’s leadership, Erlanger has weathered both the COVID-19 pandemic and become profitable again, which required cutting expenses — the largest of which is labor.
As of its 2020 annual report, Erlanger had more than 7,700 employees overall.
Though the health system is still Chattanooga’s largest employer, Erlanger now employs roughly 6,300 full- and part-time workers, according to a spokesperson.