MACON, Ga., Aug. 1, 2024 – Becker’s Hospital Review has named Atrium Health Navicent President Delvecchio Finley and Atrium Health Navicent Chief Medical Officer Dr. Patrice Walker to the publication’s “231+ Black Healthcare Leaders to Know in 2024” list. The national list highlights the work Black leaders and executives are doing in communities across the U.S. to shape patient experience, educate and train the next generation of health care providers, and further equity and inclusion.
“We are proud to extend our congratulations to Delvecchio Finley and Dr. Patrice Walker on being recognized by Becker’s
Hospital Review for their work to ensure quality health care is accessible for all, to train the health care workers of tomorrow and to champion equity and inclusion amongst our teammates,” said Atrium Health Navicent Board Chair Starr Purdue.
With more than 20 years of health care leadership experience, Finley joined Atrium Health Navicent in 2021. Raised in public housing in Atlanta, he saw health care as a pathway to serving others and promoting equity for disadvantaged communities. That ideal has encouraged him as he has shaped health care not just in the communities he’s served as a hospital leader, but also on the national level.
A fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, Finley serves as immediate past president of the organization.He is also a former board member of the American Hospital Association and past chair of the America’s Essential Hospitals Institute. Finley also serves on the boards of several Georgia entities including the Georgia Hospital Association, the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and the Georgia Research Alliance.
Finley has received numerous awards during his career, including being named to Modern Healthcare’s “Top 25 Diversity
Leaders in Healthcare” list in 2021 and 2023, and the magazine’s “Watch List” and “Top 25 Minorities in Healthcare” list in
In 2015, he received Modern Healthcare’s “Up and Comers Award” and was named to Becker’s Hospital Review’s “Top Healthcare Executives Under 40” list. He also received the Service Award in 2008, the Distinguished Service Award in 2011 and the Exemplary Service Award in 2014 through ACHE’s Recognition Program, and a Senior-Level Healthcare Executive Regent Award from ACHE in 2007.
Walker was appointed as Atrium Health Navicent’s first black, female chief medical officer in 2019. In her role, Walker has led strategy to eliminate racial disparities in care outcomes amongst Black patients in the areas of maternal and pneumonia mortality, readmission for congestive heart failure, colorectal cancer screening, blood pressure control and central line infections. She has also contributed to significant reductions in hospital-acquired conditions and patient safety improvements.
A board-certified OB-GYN and former associate professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Mercer University, Walker has been included on Georgia Trend magazine’s 40 under 40 list and Becker’s Black Healthcare Leaders to Know list in 2022 and 2023. She additionally is a recipient of The Central Georgia Women of Impact’s Ruth Hartley Mosely Pioneer of Community Advancement Award.
Finley and Walker are 2024 recipients of the James Wimberly Institute of Black History and Studies’ Barrier Breaker Award.
Becker’s Hospital Review is a source of news and information for health care decision-makers. In addition to a print magazine, Becker’s Hospital Review publishes an e-newsletter with 1 million subscribers and has 3.5 million monthly visitors on their website. The full list with individual profiles of all recognized leaders can be found at Black Healthcare Leaders to Know in 2024.
