New Grady CEO Takes Helm

By Odette Yousef

Atlanta, GA – Today marks the first day on the job for Grady Health Systems' new CEO, Michael Young. Young will have to oversee a major turnaround at the financially troubled hospital, which nearly closed last year.

Young, a hospital administrator of close to 30 years, faces a tough task. Grady is on track to lose $43 million this year. Equipment is woefully outdated, and a recent report from a consulting company cites a culture of resistance to change.

Still, Young has told reporters he hopes to have the hospital breaking even in 2 to 3 years.

Though he's never managed a hospital as large as Grady, Young does have experience turning hospitals around. When he took the helm of Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo, New York in 2005, the hospital was losing $30 million a year. Last year, it made a profit of $17 million.

Young assumes the position from interim CEO Pamela Stephenson.