Oxford Welcomes New Baptist Hospital CEO

Left to Right: Ole Miss School of Pharmacy Dean David Allen, Bill Henning and Oxford resident Preston Taylor at the Southside Gallery reception for new Baptist Memorial Hospital CEO

He’s been on the job since early February, but the new CEO and administrator of Baptist Memorial Hospital was formally introduced to the Oxford and Lafayette County community today.

William (Bill) Henning, who joined Baptist Hospital on Feb. 4,  greeted local business and community leaders at a 4 p.m. reception at Southside Gallery held to introduce the new hospital head and his wife. Henning and wife, Jan, have three daughters.

The new hospital administrator told HottyToddy.com that construction would begin soon on the new Baptist hospital facility in Oxford. “We are starting to push dirt this month, but we have a lot of it to move,” said Henning, adding that with a three-year construction schedule, the new facility is four years away.

Henning, who holds undergraduate degrees in agriculture and economics and a master’s degree in finance –– all from the University of Georgia in Athens, Ga., –– is a health care business leader with more than 20 years of experience in hospital operations. His areas of health care expertise include strategic and financial planning, development of physician networks, clinical services and community relations. He most recently served as a regional vice president for Quorum Health Resources in Frisco, Texas, where he was responsible for eleven hospitals in four states.

Henning said Oxford met all of the prerequisites for the career move he decided upon following a meeting with his wife at which they concluded that a lifestyle change was necessary.

“I was on the road 70 percent of the time,” he said.

The list that resulted from the meeting included relocating to a small college town that was near a large metro area, and finding a position with a good company and good people. “Oxford is the perfect fit.”