Sumner Regional Medical Center (SRMC) announced today that Rod Harkleroad, RN has been named its new chief executive officer (CEO), effective July 11. Harkleroad will also serve as market president of HighPoint Health System (HighPoint), which includes SRMC as well as Riverview Regional Medical Center (RRMC) in Carthage, Tennessee and Trousdale Medical Center (TMC) in Hartsville, Tennessee. He joins SRMC from Frye Regional Medical Center (FRMC), a Duke LifePoint facility in Hickory, North Carolina, where he has served as CEO since 2020. He will replace Susan Peach, who is retiring after ten years leading SRMC and HighPoint.
“We are pleased to share that Rod will be returning to middle Tennessee and HighPoint Health System,” said William Haugh, president of LifePoint Health’s Mountain Division, of which SRMC and HighPoint are a part. “Susan has provided tremendous leadership for these hospitals, and we are grateful for her commitment to serving our communities. We are confident Rod is the right person to lead our team into our next chapter. Like Susan, Rod began his healthcare career as a nurse, and he is passionate about supporting frontline caregivers. His track record in improving quality care and patient experience, in expanding access to primary and specialty care and in strengthening community ties will once again serve our patients in Gallatin, Carthage, Hartsville and throughout the region.”
A seasoned healthcare administrator with significant operational and clinical experience, Harkleroad has served in diverse leadership positions in North Carolina and Tennessee. Prior to his role at FRMC, Harkleroad served as CEO of Haywood Regional Medical Center (HRMC), another Duke LifePoint facility located in Clyde, North Carolina. He also previously served in the HighPoint market as CEO of RRMC and TMC and as associate chief nursing officer at SRMC.
“Rod is a proven leader, as evidenced not only by his years in nursing and executive leadership roles here at HighPoint, but also by his years of senior leadership at Haywood Regional Medical Center and Frye Regional Medical Center,” said Ed Mayberry, chair of SRMC’s board of trustees. “His commitment to operational excellence and his passion for our frontline caregivers underscore his achievements in advancing quality care and patient safety at the hospitals he’s led. We are excited to welcome him back to middle Tennessee and look forward to working with him to continue to drive the positive momentum we have at SRMC and across the market as we expand the ways we serve our region. We are so grateful for Susan’s leadership during the past ten years, and we wish her all the best in her next chapter.”
“I am looking forward to returning to Gallatin and the teams at Sumner Regional Medical Center, Riverview Regional Medical Center and Trousdale Medical Center,” said Harkleroad. “I know firsthand how talented, passionate and resilient our people are, and I am committed to working alongside our employees and providers to ensure our hospitals continue to be leaders in Gallatin, Carthage, Hartsville and throughout the region.”
Harkleroad earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and a Master of Business Administration and Management from Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management in Nashville, Tennessee. In 2019, he was named one of Becker’s Hospital Review’s “60 Rural Hospital and Health System CEOs to Know.”
HighPoint Health System serves the healthcare needs of communities in Middle Tennessee through three hospitals, including Sumner Regional Medical Center, the 167-bed flagship hospital located in Gallatin; Riverview Regional Medical Center, a 25-bed critical access hospital in Carthage; and Trousdale Medical Center, a 25-bed critical access hospital in Hartsville. The system, which employs more than 1,300 people, is part of LifePoint Hospitals® network of hospital facilities nationwide. HighPoint Health System is online at MySumnerMedical.com, MyRiverviewMedical.com and MyTrousdaleMedical.com.
