October 30, 2024 NGHS announces new leader for Braselton and Barrow hospitals View »

As Northeast Georgia Medical Center (NGMC) Braselton and NGMC Barrow continue expanding to meet the needs of the booming region, the hospitals are getting a new leader who has more than two decades of experience growing services to care for people.

Kevin Matson will begin serving as Northeast Georgia Health System's (NGHS) vice president of Regional Hospitals, Southern Market on Monday, November 4. In his role, Matson will lead daily operations for NGMC Braselton and provide oversight of NGMC Barrow. John Neidenbach will continue serving as administrator of NGMC Barrow, leading daily operations.

"This is a homecoming of sorts for me, since I served in a leadership role at NGMC Braselton from 2017 to 2020," said Matson. "I'm looking forward to reconnecting with familiar faces inside the hospital and in the community, as well as building new relationships."

Matson joined NGHS in 2000. He is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, received a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Brenau University and earned his master's degree in Health Administration from Ohio University. He most recently led the successful opening of NGMC Lumpkin's new campus while also expanding and introducing new services at NGMC Habersham.

"It's always an exciting time in Braselton, where we are currently in a massive expansion project that includes adding two new floors, growing the number of total licensed beds to 284, tripling the size of the Emergency Department and adding hundreds of parking spaces," said Matson. "We're busy at NGMC Barrow, too, where we're getting ready to cut the ribbon to reveal a renovation of the Emergency Department at that hospital next week."

Meanwhile, Melissa Frank, NGHS' executive director of Pharmacy, will serve as interim administrator of NGMC Lumpkin and NGMC Habersham.

"Melissa is also a proven leader with decades of experience, and her position overseeing a key service that supports dozens of locations gives her unique insight about how our hospitals operate within a larger health system," said John Kueven, chief operating officer for NGHS. "She will do an excellent job guiding our outstanding teams at Habersham and Lumpkin."

Kueven said NGHS will also continue a national search for the newly-created Vice President of Regional Hospitals, Northern Market position - which will lead daily operations of NGMC Gainesville and provide oversight of the Administrator role for NGMC Lumpkin and NGMC Habersham.

Learn more about all NGMC hospitals and schedule your next appointment online at nghs.com.