Leadership

Chief Executive Officer

Reed Hammond joined HCA Florida Memorial Hospital in June 2023. Reed joined Memorial Hospital from HCA Healthcare’s Frankfort Regional Medical Center (FRMC) in Frankfort, Kentucky, where he served as CEO for the last four and a half years. During that time, the FRMC team reduced colleague turnover, improved employee and physician engagement scores, and launched two robotics programs and a de novo bariatric program. FRMC also earned Magnet® recognition in nursing excellence from the American Credentialing Center, placing the hospital in the elite 8 percent of nationwide hospitals with Magnet® distinction.

Before FRMC, Hammond served as Chief Operating Officer (COO) at HCA Healthcare’s 332-bed Conroe Regional Medical Center in Conroe, TX. Prior to Conroe, he was the COO at Tenet Healthcare’s Centennial Medical Center in Frisco, TX., COO at the 519-bed St. Francis Hospital in Memphis, TN, and was COO at the Health Management Associates 95-bed Gilmore Memorial Hospital in Amory, MS.

He has been an active member of the community, previously serving on the Chamber of Commerce in Frisco, TX, the Healthcare Advisory Board of Antonelli College in Flowood, MS, the Healthcare Advisory Board of Midway College in Midway, KY, the board of directors of Montgomery Christian Academy in Montgomery, TX, and has been a Rotarian with the Rotary Clubs in Brandon, MS and Amory, MS.

Hammond plans to get equally engaged in Jacksonville, he is on the JAX Chamber board, and he plans to join the JAX Civic Council and the Brooks College of Health Dean’s Council boards.

Hammond is no stranger to Florida. His bachelor’s and master’s degrees are in business administration from the University of South Florida in Tampa.

He previously worked as a golf professional, remains an avid player and enjoys watching football - especially the Florida Gators.

Chief Operating Officer

Chris Kovacs joined HCA Florida Memorial Hospital as its new Chief Operating Officer (COO) in August of 2024. Chris relocated from an HCA hospital, Memorial Satilla Health in Waycross, GA.

Kovacs began his career as an Emergency Room registrar at Advent Health in Palm Coast, Florida, where he discovered his passion for healthcare. After graduating from the University of Florida, Kovacs was selected for an executive residency program with HCA Healthcare at HCA Florida North Florida Hospital in Gainesville. 

Kovacs served as Vice President of Operations at HCA Florida Fort Walton for two years. In 2022, he was hired as the Chief Operating Officer at Memorial Satilla Health.

While living in Waycross, Kovacs has been actively involved in the local community. He has served on the Waycross-Ware County Development Authority Board and the YMCA Board of Directors. He received the Chamber of Commerce’s Jake Fleming Award for Outstanding Customer Service in 2022.

Kovacs attended the University of North Florida, earning a Bachelor’s of Science in political science with a minor in history and received his master’s degree in healthcare administration from the University of Florida. 

Chief Financial Officer

Drew Hartmann joined HCA Florida Memorial Hospital as its new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in May of 2024.

Hartmann has over 11 years with HCA Healthcare, and has experience working with HCA Healthcare’s Physician Services Group and several high-volume, acute care hospitals with an understanding of their unique needs.

Hartmann was most recently CFO at HCA Florida Poinciana Hospital in Kissimmee, and prior to that he served as the ACFO for Trident Health, an HCA Healthcare hospital located in Charleston, SC.

Hartmann has a proven track record of securing funding for key projects, identifying growth areas and leading the charge for new services and facilities, with an eye to fulfilling the healthcare needs of the communities we serve.

Hartman earned his bachelor’s degrees in Accounting, Finance and Economics at the University of Kentucky.

Chief Nursing Officer

David Threatt, DNP, MSHI, RN, NE-BC, joined the HCA Florida Memorial Hospital family in August of 2021 as the Chief Nursing Officer.

Previously, Threatt was the CNO at Coliseum Medical Centers since February, 2020 and began at Coliseum as their Assistant Chief Nursing Officer in June of 2018. He has served in various leadership roles within HCA Healthcare’s South Atlantic Division since 2012. Among them, Division Director of Labor Management and Division Director of Clinical Informatics/Analytics. Prior to joining HCA Healthcare, Threatt worked as a senior consultant at Innovative Consulting Group and as a registered nurse in the Progressive Care ICU at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, NC.

Threatt earned his Doctorate of Nursing Practice in the Nurse Executive Leadership and Innovations program, and he earned his Master's of Health Informatics from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. He has a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and an Associate Degree in Nursing from Central Piedmont Community College. Threatt is a Board Certified Nurse Executive (NE-BC), a member of HCA Healthcare’s Executive Development Program (EDP) class of 2020 and a 2018 Capstone winner for HCA Healthcare Leadership Institute’s ACNO Advanced Leadership Program.

Senior Vice President of Operations

Eleanor Lynch joined HCA Florida Memorial Hospital as the Senior Vice President of Operations in May of 2012. In this role, she provides operational leadership to multiple ancillary departments and recently spearheaded the Trauma Program launch.

Prior to joining our hospital, Lynch served as the Assistant Chief Executive Officer of Carolinas Hospital System in Florence, South Carolina. She had direct administrative oversight of multiple departments including Laboratory, Wound Care, Drug and Alcohol Unit, Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit, Comprehensive Outpatient Rehabilitation Center, Transitional Care Unit, Respiratory, Sleep Lab and Occupational Health Programs. She was also responsible for physician recruitment and worked closely with the Chief Executive Officer on physician selection, contract negotiations, practice development and physician alignment strategies.

Lynch completed her Bachelor’s of Science in Physical Therapy from the University of the Philippines. She also served as a professor of Physical and Occupational Therapy at the University of the Philippines and cherishes her long-standing, clinical career in the field of rehabilitation. Lynch also holds a Master’s of Arts in Management and Leadership from Webster University.

Vice President of Human Resources

Stuart Thompson is a Human Resources Executive with two decades of HR experience. Thompson joined the HCA Florida Memorial Hospital team in 2014 as Vice President of Human Resources. Prior to joining us, Thompson served as the Senior Director of Human Resources at Cleveland Clinic in South Florida. Thompson also served in HR leadership positions at Aventura Hospital, Sunrise Hospital, St. Lucie Medical Center and North Florida Regional.

Thompson has spent nearly 15 years with HCA and has a proven record for leading progressive strategies that integrate the organization’s overall mission of providing quality services in a cost effective manner in the areas of: compensation and benefits, recruitment, employee relations, labor relations, leadership and management development, policy and program development, workplace safety and other Human Resources services. Thompson earned his Bachelor’s of Science degree in Human Resources and Business Administration from the University of Florida and a Master’s of Science in Healthcare Management from Troy University.

Associate Vice President of PR and Communications

Odette Struys joined HCA Florida Memorial Hospital as its Associate Vice President of Public Relations and Communications in January of 2019. She has extensive PR industry experience. She joined HCA Florida Memorial Hospital from Atkins Global where she was the Senior Public Information Officer for the Florida Department of Transportation overseeing I-95, I-10 and the region’s first Diverging Diamond Interchange. She was the Spokesperson for more than $600 million in FDOT projects. Previously, she directed National Media Relations for Nemours Corporate Services managing operations in four states and oversaw Marketing and Communications for The Blood Alliance covering three states.

Odette hails from Singapore and has enjoyed two distinct careers— in PR and as a member of the news media. She has worked for CNN in Washington, DC, to Clear Channel, FOX, UPN, PBS and the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation - where in 1992, she was a pioneer in Southeast Asia breaking barriers as the region’s first female Olympic TV sports anchor. Today, she is a volunteer community anchor for WJCT PBS TV and radio.

She has served on the board of directors of Visit Jacksonville, Leadership Jacksonville, GlobalJax - an arm of the U.S. State Department, Jacksonville Asian American Advisory Council, WJCT PBS and the South Jacksonville Rotary Club. She has a bachelor’s in radio, TV and speech broadcasting and a master’s in organizational management.

• Ray Gyarmathy, MD (Chairman)
• Reed Hammond
• Barbara Darby, EdD
• Frederick Jenkins, MD
• Dianne Johnson, MD
• Bharat Misra, MD
• John Obi, MD
• Artis Gilmore
• Vince McCormack
• Sejal Kuthiala, MD
• Cindy Stover
• Robert Kim, MD
• Anand Gupta, MD