Rita Bunch, FACHE, a senior executive with nearly three decades of experience as a healthcare leader, has been named chief operating officer at Memorial Regional Hospital. The 863-bed facility, one of the largest in Florida, is the flagship of the Hollywood-based Memorial Healthcare System.
Bunch was most recently market CEO at Erlanger East and North in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Prior to that, she held leadership positions at Virginia-based Sentara Health, where she teamed with current Memorial Regional Hospital CEO Paul Gaden.
“I’m excited to welcome Rita to the team as we continue to advance our mission,” said Gaden. “Her extensive career experience, genuine passion for improving patient outcomes and commitment to fostering a healthy workplace culture made her a natural choice to join our leadership team.”
At Memorial Regional, Bunch has joined a hospital with a rich history of quality, service and community impact, qualities that attracted her to its COO position. The role enables her to focus on increasing operational efficiencies that benefit patients and the clinical and administrative teams she’ll help lead.
“I’m a relationship builder and believe in knowing each individual as a person first and team member second,” said Bunch. “I’m visible, accountable, and have always done what’s right over what’s easy.”
Bunch plans to immerse herself in the South Florida communities Memorial serves, believing it to be the best way to understand its medical needs and opportunities. The Hollywood resident is a two-time graduate of East Tennessee State University, focusing on healthcare administration during both undergraduate and master’s studies.
Memorial Regional Hospital is a Level 1 trauma center equipped to manage the most critical emergency situations. The facility annually has more than 200,000 patient encounters, including nearly 100,000 through its emergency department, and delivers more than 5,000 babies.
Serving the community since 1953, the hospital features medical and surgical services, institutes dedicated to neuroscience, cancer, transplant, cardiac and vascular care, a family birthplace, and behavioral health services.
Visit them online at www.mhs.net/locations/memorial-regional.
