News

Southeast Georgia Health System CEO Michael Scherneck Retires After 18 Years of Successful Leadership

January 7, 2022

After nearly two decades of leadership roles with Southeast Georgia Health System, including more than six years as president and chief executive officer, Michael D. Scherneck retired on January 7, 2022.

Scherneck joined the Health System in 2003 as executive vice president and chief financial officer. In 2015, he was appointed president & chief executive officer by the Southeast Georgia Health System, Inc. Board of Directors.

“I’m very proud to have served the Health System, my fellow team members, and this community,” said Scherneck. “From the time my wife, Kathy, and I arrived here in 2003, we have developed a great affinity for our community. It has proven to be a wonderful opportunity, both professionally and personally, one for which I will be forever grateful. Our community is such that we are friends and family caring for friends and family and I am honored to have played a part in that service commitment.”

During his tenure, Scherneck led numerous initiatives focused on enhancing the Health System’s ability to provide quality health care to the communities it serves, including the growth of the Health System’s affiliated physician practice group, Southeast Georgia Physician Associates. Scherneck also helped create partnerships, such as Coastal Community Health, a regional alliance with Baptist Health in Jacksonville, Florida, to share best practices, optimize resources and achieve greater efficiency, higher quality of care and better patient outcomes.

A significant highlight of Scherneck’s tenure includes the $142 million Master Renovation and Expansion Project of its Brunswick Campus, launched in 2018. Along with the expansion of the Emergency Care Center, which increased the number of treatment rooms from 35 to 50, the project included 16 new operating rooms for the Surgical Services department and a new 32-bed inpatient floor. It also included renovating two existing patient floors, adding a new Parkwood Drive main entrance and lobby, and a covered visitor/patient parking area.

In early 2019, COVID-19 became a primary focus for everyone at the Health System. Scherneck worked with leadership teams to expand the Health System’s intensive care capabilities; secure necessary supplies and equipment; dedicate resources for community COVID-19 testing; recruit additional critical care physicians to the community; and invest in resources to provide more than 50,000 COVID-19 vaccinations to area residents. He also developed collaborative relationships with the Department of Public Health’s Coastal Health District to provide testing, vaccination and education events to the community.

“While we have faced a number of challenges, we have accomplished so very much,” said Scherneck. “I appreciate all the grace and expertise exhibited by team members during several hurricanes, multiple Joint Commission surveys, a major construction project and, of course, the COVID-19 pandemic. What in hindsight may have seemed impossible at the start was dealt with effectively because of the dedication of our Board of Directors, medical staff, volunteers and most especially, our team members throughout both hospitals, Senior Care Centers and our many physician practices.”

Scherneck added, “I welcome my successor, Scott Raynes, and trust he will enjoy the same sense of accomplishment and success with which I have been blessed.”

In addition to his Health System role, Scherneck has served on several professional and community boards, including the Georgia Alliance of Community Hospitals, Vizient Southern States, Brunswick-Golden Isles Chamber of Commerce, United Way of Coastal Georgia, Morningstar Children and Family Services, Inc., and St. Francis Xavier Catholic School Finance Council.

Additional highlights of Scherneck’s CEO tenure include:

  • 2021: Camden Campus earns an A rating for patient safety from Leapfrog
  • 2021: Georgia Trend includes Brunswick Campus in its Top Medium Hospital List
  • 2021: Brunswick Campus is designated an Advanced Primary Stroke Center and Camden Campus is designated an Acute Stroke Ready Hospital by The Joint Commission
  • 2017-2021: Georgia Trend includes Camden Campus in its Top Small Hospital List
  • 2020: Brunswick Campus is ranked high performing in “Heart Failure” and “COPD” by U.S. News & World Report
  • 2020: Health System receives American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines® Stroke Silver Plus Quality Achievement Award
  • 2020: Health System receives LifeLink® of Georgia Workplace Partnership for Life Platinum Awards for both Brunswick and Camden campuses.
  • 2019: Brunswick Campus is designated a Baby-Friendly hospital by Baby-Friendly USA, Inc.
  • 2019: Brunswick Campus is awarded American Orthopaedic Association’s® Own the Bone Program Star Performer
  • 2018: Georgia Trend includes Brunswick Campus in its Top Medium Hospital List
  • 2017: Scherneck named CEO/Administrator of the Year by the Council on Auxiliaries/Volunteers of the Georgia Hospital Association.

About Southeast Georgia Health System
Southeast Georgia Health System is a not-for-profit health system comprised of two acute care hospitals, two long term care facilities, two comprehensive Cancer Care Centers and multiple specialty care centers, including orthopaedic and spine care, joint replacement, breast care, maternity, outpatient rehabilitation, sleep management and wound care. The Brunswick Campus Cancer Care Center is accredited by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer and offers the only CyberKnife® M6 with MLC technology in Georgia. Additionally, the Southeast Georgia Physician Associates medical group includes more than 150 providers working in 20 different medical specialties at more than 50 locations. The Health System is part of Coastal Community Health, a regional affiliation between Baptist Health and Southeast Georgia Health System forming a highly integrated hospital network focused on significant initiatives designed to enhance the quality and value of care provided to our contiguous communities. For more information, visit sghs.org.

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