Holston Valley Medical Center’s chief executive officer Tim Attebery selected to lead American College of Cardiology

KINGSPORT, Tenn. – With decades of leadership experience in healthcare and extensive expertise in cardiovascular services, Tim Attebery has been chosen as the new chief executive officer of the American College of Cardiology.

Attebery has been the chief executive officer of Holston Valley Medical Center since 2013, during which time he created initiatives that improved patient safety and experience scores, brought more orthopedic services to the region, and expanded Holston Valley’s cardiovascular service to include the addition of two new catheterization labs.

“To be named the chief executive officer of the ACC has always been a dream of Tim’s,” said Eric Deaton, senior vice president of market operations for Ballad Health. “This is an extremely prestigious role, and I am so excited for him. All of Ballad Health’s leadership is proud of his many accomplishments within Holston Valley and the rest of the system.”

In his new role, Attebery will be responsible for the overall executive leadership of the American College of Cardiology, which provides educational and scientific resources to cardiovascular providers and the organizations those providers work within to serve patients.

The mission of the American College of Cardiology and its more than 52,000 members is to transform cardiovascular care and to improve heart health. The College leads in the formation of health policy, standards and guidelines, and operates national registries to measure and improve care. Also, it offers cardiovascular accreditation to hospitals and institutions, provides professional medical education, disseminates cardiovascular research and bestows credentials upon cardiovascular specialists who meet stringent qualifications.

“I am humbled and honored to serve as the American College of Cardiology’s next chief executive officer,” said Attebery. “More than 10 years ago, I remember a cardiologist telling me that I would make a great CEO for the American College of Cardiology, and I responded, ‘That’s never going to happen!’ I couldn’t be happier to have been wrong.

“I will greatly miss Holston Valley and Kingsport. I’ve had the good fortune to work with great people – including an extremely talented and dedicated leadership team – and I am very blessed to have lived in Kingsport since moving here in 2007. I believe strongly in the vision of the merger that created Ballad Health.  With the enormous challenges faced by hospitals and health systems nationally, Ballad Health has the right plan, and I could not be more supportive of its leadership and the vision set forth for its success.  I will stand ready to support Ballad Health in any way I can, and I encourage all our team members, volunteers and physicians to work with the health system to achieve its goals for the region we all love so much.”

Before being named Holston Valley’s chief executive officer, Attebery served as Wellmont Health System’s vice president of cardiovascular services, and the administrative leader of Wellmont’s award-winning heart care service line. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Western Governors University, Salt Lake City, Utah, and his master’s degree in business administration from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. Attebery is also in the final stages of completing his doctorate degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

“Tim and I have known each other for several years, and for the past few months, I have had the privilege to work closely with him as part of the leadership team of Ballad Health,” said Monty McLaurin, chief executive officer of Ballad Health’s northwest market, which includes Holston Valley and Indian Path Medical Center. “Tim has such a great depth of knowledge and experience in healthcare and is highly respected by the Holston Valley physicians and team members. I will miss his friendship and wish him well in his new role on the national stage.”

Attebery’s transition will take place over the next six weeks. Monty McLaurin will serve as interim chief executive officer of Holston Valley while an executive search is conducted.