Luther E. Reeves Named CEO at St. Mary’s Hospital

NORTON, VA. --  In a specially called meeting April 2, St. Mary’s Hospital Board of Trustees unanimously voted to appoint Luther E. Reeves chief executive officer, effective May 6. 

Reeves was selected to lead St. Mary’s Hospital from a field of over 50 candidates throughout the United States.  His responsibilities will include management of the 133-bed hospital and all related services.  These include 54 acute-care beds, a 44-bed long-term-care unit and St. Mary’s Family Center, a freestanding acute-care behavioral health facility.

Reeves, 51, comes to St. Mary's Hospital from Fleming County Hospital in Flemingsburg, Ky., where he has served as chief executive officer since 1998.  Prior to that, he was chief executive officer of Appling Healthcare System in Baxley, Ga., and held a variety of health care management positions in South Carolina and Chicago, Ill.  A former staff sergeant, he was discharged with honors from the U.S. Marine Corps in 1976.

Upon accepting his new position, Reeves said he was “excited” about being at St. Mary’s Hospital and that he and his family are looking forward to making Norton their “home community.”  He said, “Norton is just the size community we want and St. Mary’s offers a wide range of services and is truly committed to helping the sick.  The Sisters’ healing ministry and their tradition of providing help to the needy are particularly important to me.”

Reeves will assume the position currently held by Karl N. Miller, interim chief executive officer.  “We are very pleased that Luther will be joining St. Mary's Hospital,” said Miller.  “He brings strong leadership skills and a history of community involvement that fit well with our heritage and will help St. Mary’s and our community move forward.”

Reeves, a native of Charleston, S.C., also is a licensed nursing home administrator.  He holds a bachelor of science degree in business from Charleston Southern University and a master of health services administration degree from the Medical University of South Carolina, also in Charleston. He and his wife, Wendy, have a 2 ½- year-old son and he has three adult daughters.

A community activist, Reeves currently serves on the executive committees of the Flemingsburg Chamber of Commerce and Buffalo Trace Area Substance Abuse Board. He is a member of the local chapter of the Kentucky Cancer Program and active in the regional foster care program.  Recently, he was appointed to the statewide Kentucky Substance Abuse Program Board.