MOBILE, Ala. – For the second year in a row, Owen Bailey, MSHA, FACHE, the CEO and senior associate vice president for medical affairs at USA Health, has been named to the Becker’s Hospital Review list of 96 Academic Medical Center CEOs to Know for 2024. View the list here.

Since joining USA Health, Bailey has been a driving force behind the academic health system’s expansive growth from seven facilities in 2016 to nearly 45 care delivery sites in 2024. Most recently, he was part of the executive team that led the October 2023 acquisition of Ascension Providence in the Alabama Gulf Coast market, negotiating an agreement that added 1,800 employees and 14 clinics in two states.

With more than 7,000 employees, USA Health now stands as the largest public health system in the region.

“We are extremely proud of the work Owen and our entire USA Health team have accomplished in such a relatively short time,” said John V. Marymont, M.D., MBA, vice president for medical affairs and dean of the Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine. “We are the leading academic health system on the upper Gulf Coast enabling more people to have access to medical care than ever before.”

USA Health and the Whiddon College of Medicine at the University of South Alabama, the flagship of the Gulf Coast, are responsible for a more than $1 billion annual impact on the area’s economy.

Under Bailey’s leadership, USA Health also continues to expand services in the rural health environment. Beginning with a management agreement with Monroe County Hospital in 2022, USA Health is growing its relationships with rural Alabama hospitals within a 125-mile radius.

In fall 2023, USA Health formed the Southwest Alabama Rural Hospital Collaborative with 10 rural hospitals to share ideas, cost-saving measures, grant opportunities and USA Health’s intellectual capital to enhance the sustainability of rural hospitals and serve residents in those communities.

An experienced healthcare executive, Bailey has received numerous awards, including the Up and Comer Award from Modern Healthcare magazine, the Young Healthcare Executive of the Year, and the Regent’s Award from the Alabama Chapter of the American College of Healthcare Executives.

In 2023, Bailey was awarded the Alabama Hospital Association’s Distinguished Service Award. He also was the recipient of the AlaHA Grassroots Award for his exceptional leadership in generating grassroots and community support of the important mission of hospitals.

He currently serves on the boards of several organizations, including the Business Council of Alabama, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama, Hancock Whitney Bank Alabama Market Advisory Board, America’s Essential Hospitals Membership Committee, and LifeSouth Community Blood Centers.

He has served on the boards of the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce and the University of Mobile. He is past chairman of the Southwest Council for the Alabama Hospital Association, Mobile Area Education Foundation, Southwest Alabama Workforce Development Council, and the Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in health administration from Auburn University and a master’s degree in health administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.