Neil Heatherly

VP of Healthcare Strategies
South College

Neil Heatherly is a seasoned healthcare executive, having led multiple, complex organizations in competitive markets for 30 years.

Most recently, Heatherly served as the President and Chief Administrative Officer of Parkwest Medical Center in Knoxville, TN, including responsibility for Peninsula Hospital, since 2016. He previously served as President and CEO of Tennova Healthcare for two years and Community Health Systems, parent company of Tennova, since 2009 as Vice President of Operations for hospitals in Tennessee and Pennsylvania. He also has served as President of the organization’s home care division, which included more than 100 affiliated home health and hospice agencies across 23 states.  Heatherly also has served as an administrative leader at hospitals in Texas, Georgia and Tennessee for HCA.

Heatherly is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE). He has served as board chairman of Leadership Healthcare of the Nashville Healthcare Council and is an alumnus of Leadership Knoxville, Leadership Rutherford County, and Leadership Donelson-Hermitage.  Locally, Heatherly has served as a member of the Knoxville Chamber of Commerce board, the Interfaith Health Clinic board, and a University of Tennessee Chancellor’s Associate Class of 2019.  He is a graduate of Farragut High School and holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee and a master’s degree in business administration from the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University.

As a second-generation hospital administrator and a former surgery orderly in his teenage years, Heatherly finds his personal and professional inspiration from deeply rooted source – his faith, family, and a desire to serve others.