Dr. Mary Chatman, PhD, RN

Executive Vice President, Wellstar Health System
President, Wellstar Kennestone Regional Medical Center and Wellstar Windy Hill Hospital

Mary Chatman

Chatman joined Wellstar in March 2017 as vice president and chief operating officer for Wellstar Kennestone Regional Medical Center, then later in the year, she was appointed interim president while still maintaining her chief operating officer duties. In 2018, she was promoted to senior vice president and president, and also assumed responsibility for Wellstar Windy Hill Hospital.

Her current scope includes being an executive vice president of the health system and overseeing nine hospitals of which she is the president of 2 – Wellstar Kennestone Regional Medical Center and Windy Hill Hospital. In addition, she oversees the system’s real estate, construction, and facilities development as well as the post-acute services. She manages a team of more than 10,000 employees.

A visionary leader, she led the charge for the 2020 opening of the Southeast’s largest emergency department ($236M project) at Wellstar Kennestone Regional Medical Center. The emergency department was recognized by the Atlanta Business Chronicle with the Best in Real Estate Award for Healthcare Deal of the Year in 2021.

She was recently appointed to the Georgia Healthcare Workforce Commission and serves as at-large trustee for the Georgia Hospital Association, examiner and national fellow with the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program, and board member for United Community Bank. Chatman is a member of the American Nurses Association and American College of Healthcare Executives. She was appointed by Governor Deal to serve on the Board of Nursing in 2011, where she served two years, one as vice-chair.

Chatman has been recognized locally and nationally as a prominent leader and strong patient advocate in healthcare. Atlanta Daily World recognized her among the 2018 Women of Excellence. Diversity MBA Magazine named her among the 2018 Top 100 Under 50 Executive & Emerging Leaders and 2020 Top 100 Women of Influence. Profiles in Diversity Journal named her a 2020 Women Worth Watching® in STEM award winner. Chatman was recognized by Atlanta Magazine among the 2021 Women Making A Mark honorees and by Becker’s as one of the 75 Black Healthcare Leaders to Know 2022. She was also named the 2020 West Cobb Citizen of the Year for serving on the frontlines for Cobb County, fighting COVID-19, and collaborating with local leaders.

Prior to joining Wellstar, her healthcare career began when she became a nursing assistant in 1988 at Vidant Health System, an 861-bed academic medical center in Greenville, North Carolina. As she cared for patients, her authentic leadership skills became evident, and she was encouraged to transition to management. During her 20 years at Vidant, she was promoted ten times, ultimately serving as chief nursing officer. She developed a keen sense of operational best practices having the opportunity to work
in, oversee, or manage every department in the hospital except Finance and Information Systems, as well as to manage ambulatory and for-profit business lines.

Chatman moved to Savannah Georgia in 2017 to serve as chief operating officer and chief nursing officer at Memorial University Health System in Savannah for eight years. During this time, she was responsible
for managing the 654-bed hospital as well as nursing operations. In addition, she served as interim chief information officer for Memorial and led the $85M electronic health record conversion from McKesson to
EPIC.

Chatman is a native of eastern North Carolina, and she earned three nursing degrees from East Carolina University, including a Bachelor of Science degree, a Master of Science degree, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree. Chatman is the proud mother of two young adults and is also caretaker for her 80-year-old active mother.