Portland, Maine – MaineHealth, the largest integrated health system in northern New England, has selected a Virginia doctor as its next executive director.
Andrew T. Mueller, MD, is currently the President and Chief Executive Officer of Centra Health, a Lynchburg, Virginia health system that consists of four local hospital organizations in central Virginia. Mueller will replace Bill Caron as CEO of MaineHealth, who announced his intention to retire last year.
“With Dr. Mueller, we’re getting a leader who knows health care inside out,” said Greg Dufour, chairman of the MaineHealth Board of Trustees. “After Dr. Mueller has worked as a family doctor, he understands what it takes to take care of the whole person, and his considerable success as a leader makes him an ideal leader as we pursue our vision of “working together to make our communities the healthiest in America.”
After graduating from the University of North Carolina Medical School in 1996, Müller joined the Air Force and completed his residency at Malcolm Grow Medical Center at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, where he later served as the chief medical officer for family medicine. From 1999 to 2003, Müller was a general practitioner and aviation surgeon with the 437th Medical Group at Charleston Air Force Base in South Carolina. After retiring from the Air Force in 2003, he spent three years as a family doctor with South Carolina Health Services in Bluffton, SC.
Although he remained a practicing physician, Mueller began his career as a senior physician at Novant Health, a large four-state health system based in North Carolina. He had increasing responsibility at Novant, culminating in his role as President of Novant Market in Greater Charlotte. In May 2019 he became President and Managing Director of Centra Health.
“We found the breadth of his experience very attractive,” said George Isaacson, a member of the MaineHealth Board of Trustees and chairman of the CEO Search Committee. “He knows how it is in practice and is an extremely competent leader with experience in both a very large and a smaller healthcare system. It is important that it shares our belief in the role health systems can play in the health of the population. “
Mueller is expected to start at MaineHealth in late spring. Caron originally intended to retire at the end of the 2020 calendar year. However, due to the demands of the global coronavirus pandemic, these plans have been delayed in order to maintain MaineHealth’s stability during the crisis.
“Bill has been our leader in MaineHealth since its earliest days. His vision has built a health system that provides excellent care every day and maintains local health systems that meet the needs of their communities,” said Dufour. “The Board of Trustees assumes that Dr. Mueller will continue this success story.”
For his part, Mueller said he found MaineHealth’s commitment to its patients and communities an attractive opportunity.
“MaineHealth’s focus on excellent, patient-centered care and community wellbeing gives me the opportunity to lead an organization that changes people’s lives every day,” said Müller. “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity too good to be missed.”
About MaineHealth
MaineHealth is a not-for-profit integrated health system comprised of nine local hospital systems, a comprehensive behavioral medicine network, diagnostic services, home health authorities and more than 1,700 salaried and independent physicians working together through an Accountable Care Organization. With nearly 22,000 employees, MaineHealth is the largest healthcare system in northern New England, providing preventive care, diagnosis and treatment to 1.1 million residents in Maine and New Hampshire. It includes Franklin Memorial Hospital / Franklin Community Health Network in Farmington, LincolnHealth in Damariscotta and Boothbay Harbor, Maine Behavioral Healthcare in South Portland, MaineHealth Care at home in Saco, Maine Medical Center in Portland, Memorial Hospital in North Conway, NH, Mid Coast – Parkview Health in Braunschweig, NorDx in Scarborough, Pen Bay Medical Center and Waldo County Hospital in Rockport and Belfast, Southern Maine Health Care in Biddeford and Sanford, Spring Harbor Hospital in Westbrook and Stephens Memorial Hospital / Western Maine Health Care in Norway . MaineHealth partners include Maine General Health in Augusta and Waterville, New England Rehabilitation Hospital in Portland, and St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center in Lewiston. It is also a key stakeholder in the MaineHealth Accountable Care Organization in Portland.
