There are lots of good things in Selma. Vaughan is one of them, hospital CEO says as he retires

David McCormack has been CEO of Vaughan Regional Medical Center in Selma for nine years. But even though he said he has mixed emotions about leaving, he has decided to retire.

McCormack said he has worked for 14 hospitals during his career as a hospital administrator, staying in each community for four years or less. But he said Selma was special for him.

“God brought me here as a reward,” McCormack said. “I thank him every day for bringing me to Selma.”

McCormack said, “I wish everybody knew about this community,” explaining that there are a lot of positive aspects to Selma. He said he was frustrated with how much negative press the city receives.

“I’ve never had an issue living here at all,” McCormack said. “It’s been a comfortable, easy place to live, filled with wonderful people.”

“I want people who live here to know it’s a good place,” McCormack said, and he hopes the people of Selma realize what a good hospital Vaughan is.

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“There are a lot of good things here, and one of them is this hospital,” McCormack said. “They need to recognize that and support this hospital.”

During his nine-year tenure, McCormack worked to make critical care more accessible in Selma and surrounding areas. Some of his achievements are the opening of a wound care clinic and the Selma Cancer Care Center in 2020. A state-of-the-art cardiac catheterization lab opened in 2022, and an outpatient dialysis clinic, and a primary care and urgent care center opened in 2024.

But McCormack said overall his biggest achievement is just keeping the hospital open. “There are hospitals closing all the time, everywhere,” McCormack said. “Alabama is the worst state for getting reimbursed” by insurance companies. He explained that larger hospitals get reimbursed quickly, but smaller hospitals are not reimbursed in a timely fashion.

As for what he will be doing in retirement, McCormack said he will spend time with his children and grandchildren. One set lives in the Anniston-Gadsden area and the other in Navarre, Florida.

McCormack’s last day at Vaughan will be Feb. 21. It was officially announced Feb. 7 that former Jackson Hospital chief operating officer Michael James will be the next CEO of Vaughan. His first day was Feb. 10.