Community Health Systems (NYSE: CYH) CEO Tim Hingtgen will retire at the end of September, marking a major leadership transition at one of the nation’s largest health care operators – and a key player in the ambulatory surgery center (ASC) space.
President and CFO Kevin Hammons will succeed Hingtgen, who cited personal reasons for stepping down after 17 years with the company.
“I’ll be here until the end of September to support a seamless transition,” Hingtgen said during the company’s second quarter earnings call on July 24. “But truthfully, Kevin could step into the role of CEO today, and things would be just fine.”
The announcement came alongside earnings results that showed slight growth in net income and continued progress on the company’s strategic initiatives, including the expansion of its ASC footprint and divestiture of some hospital assets.
“This is not a decision that was made easily or quickly or without regard to what’s best for CHS,” Hingtgen said. “Let’s call it a difficult, and, for me, a necessary choice.”
According to CHS, its subsidiaries now operate more than 70 affiliated hospitals and over 1,000 outpatient sites, which include ASCs. Hingtgen said CHS now operates more than 40 ASCs across its portfolio, with new centers expected to open in the coming months in Birmingham and Foley, Alabama, and Tucson, Arizona.
“[ASCs] are a critical component of our market growth strategy into being well positioned to grow and serve consumer demand,” he said.
For the second quarter of 2025, Community Health Systems posted net operating revenues of $3.13 billion, a slight dip compared to the $3.14 billion the company generated during the prior year’s same period.
While CHS posted a second-quarter net income of $282 million, compared to a $13 million loss in the same quarter last year, adjusted EBITDA fell slightly year over year to $380 million, which Hingten attributed to lower outpatient volumes and soft surgical demand.
Surgical volume dropped 2.5% year over year on a same-store basis, with roughly half of that decline attributed to orthopedics, Hingtgen said. He linked those trends to eroding consumer confidence, particularly among patients with high-deductible commercial insurance plans.
Despite the downturn, CHS remains confident in the long-term trajectory of its ambulatory and hospital investments, Hingtgen said.
And he said he is optimistic for the remainder of the year, pointing to anticipated payments from newly approved Medicaid state-directed payment programs and stabilization in patient volumes.
“We believe that most of what happened this quarter was care that’s being deferred for financial reasons, patient behavior,” Hammons said. “But that will come back.”
The company is planning for over 200 new providers to begin work in the second half of 2025, he added.
In addition to Hammons stepping in as CEO, Community Health Systems announced that Jason K. Johnson, who currently serves as senior vice president and chief accounting officer, will become interim CFO.
