PARIS, Ill. (WTWO/WAWV)— After almost four decades of serving as President and CEO, Ollie Smith has announced his retirement.
Horizon Health’s Board of Directors has approved Jay Carmichael as their new President and CEO and will take his position on January 20th. Carmichael brings with him over 10 years of experience in rural health. Carmichael said he wants to continue Horizon’s history of high-quality care with a positive patient experience.
“Rural health is often overlooked and needs to continue to be a beacon of hope,” he said. “It provides an opportunity to know people on a first-name basis. Horizon Health’s know-your-neighbor growth over the last several years shows a passion to serve people.”
Carmichael was previously serving as Vice President and COO of Southwell, a rural health system out of southeastern Georgia. During this role, he served as the on-site administrator for Southwell Medical in Adel, Georgia, a building consisting of a 20-bed rural hospital and a 95-bed nursing facility. Southwell’s network however spanned 240 licensed beds, over 30 physician clinics, and had over 2,700 employees serving a 12-county region. Under his leadership, Southwell even earned a 2024 Performance Leadership Award for excellence in Patient Perspective from the Chartis Center for Rural Health. The award recognizes top-quartile performance among rural hospitals in quality, outcomes, and/or patient perspective.
Carmichael also served as a business development leader for the southern part of Oracle Health prior to Southwell. Oracle Health is a US-based global provider of health information technology platforms and services. Carmichael also holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of North Carolina and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Armstrong Atlantic State University in Georgia. He is also a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE) and a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator.
