Nicole Thomas is the new hospital president of Baptist Medical Center Jacksonville, Baptist Health announced Aug 6.
Thomas takes over from Michael Mayo, who was appointed CEO of Baptist Health in May.
Thomas was president of Baptist Medical Center South and is the first woman and first African American to lead a Baptist hospital, the company said in a news release.
“It is an honor to be appointed to serve in an even bigger way, impacting the lives of patients and their families in our community,” Thomas said. “I look forward to joining Baptist Jacksonville’s team members and physicians to further the hospital’s mission of providing safe, high-quality, compassionate health care. I am truly blessed to have a career that allows me to be part of the healing experience.”
Baptist Medical Center Jacksonville is the system’s Downtown hospital at 841 Prudential Drive.
A president at Baptist South has not been named, but the search is underway, the release said.
Thomas joined the system in 2011 as vice president of operations and specialty services. She became senior vice president of specialty services in 2014 and was named president in 2016.
In her time at Baptist Medical Center South she oversaw an expansion that added 138 beds and 80,000 square feet to the campus, the construction of a parking garage, the addition of a Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Center and a 12-bed Wolfson Children’s Hospital ER.
She also oversaw the addition of orthopedic, general surgery and maternity service lines.
“Nicole Thomas is a perfect fit to lead Baptist Jacksonville,” Mayo said in the release. “Her ability to overcome challenges, combined with her results-driven nature and collaborative leadership style, will take Baptist Jacksonville to the next level in providing the highest quality patient care possible.”
Thomas received a bachelor’s degree in public health administration from Dillard University and a master’s in Healthcare Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
She was one of Modern Healthcare magazine’s Top 25 Minority Executives in Healthcare in 2018 and 2020.