Leadership

Chief Executive Officer

John McLain serves as chief executive officer (CEO), presiding over Starr Regional Medical Center’s two-hospital system with campuses in Athens and Etowah. In this role, McLain provides strategic, financial and operational oversight for both facilities, which employs more than 690 staff members and 20 providers.

Prior to joining Starr Regional Medical Center in August 2019, McLain served as CEO for healthcare facilities in Florida, Georgia and Tennessee, most recently serving as CEO for Bayfront Health in St. Petersburg, Fla. McLain is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Chief Financial Officer

As chief financial officer (CFO), David Alley is responsible for Starr Regional Medical Center’s overall financial reporting and budgeting. Alley joined Starr Regional in 2001. He was selected to take part in LifePoint Health’s Performing Leader Program (2008 – 2010) and has served as the Eastern Group representative for the LifePoint Health CFO Council (2011 – 2013).

Prior to his role at Starr Regional, Alley served as the controller of Redmond Regional Medical Center in Rome, Ga. Currently, he serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the Athens-McMinn Family YMCA.

Chief Nursing Officer

Deborah Vaughn, MSN, serves as the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) of Starr Regional Medical Center. As CNO, she directs all nursing activities, including staffing, budgets and quality measures, to ensure nursing standards, practices, policies and procedures are consistent with regulatory and accreditation requirements and national professional standards.

Vaughn joined Starr Regional Medical Center following multiple interim CNO assignments for Lifepoint facilities. Prior to serving the interim CNO assignments, Vaughn was the CNO at Raleigh General Hospital in Beckley, West Virginia, and retired from the hospital in 2021. She has more than 40 years of nursing experience, including 36 years in nursing leadership for healthcare facilities in Louisiana, Texas and West Virginia.