NASHVILLE, Tenn.– HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE: HCA) today announced Jyric Sims, Ph.D., will become president of the company’s West Florida Division, effective June 12.
Sims, who currently is CEO of HCA Healthcare’s Medical City Plano and Medical City Frisco hospitals, will succeed Ravi Chari, M.D., who recently announced he will retire after 15 years with the company to pursue opportunities in early-stage healthcare companies.
A more than 20-year healthcare veteran, Sims has been with HCA Healthcare since 2011. He has served as chief executive officer at Medical City Plano and Medical City Frisco since 2021, and he is responsible for all operations of the two hospitals, which comprise more than 700 acute care beds and 3,000 employees.
“Jyric is a talented healthcare veteran who has held a number of hospital leadership positions for HCA Healthcare hospitals in Florida, Louisiana, and Texas,” said Richard A. Hammett, president, Atlantic Group, HCA Healthcare. “During his career he has led a number of significant growth and expansion projects that have improved patient access to healthcare services. Jyric’s leadership experience and deep understanding of HCA Healthcare’s patients-first culture will serve him well in his new role.”
Prior to his current role, Sims served from 2017 to 2021 as CEO of Medical City Fort Worth, a 348-bed, acute care hospital. There, he led more than $115 million in expansions, including the addition of a patient tower with a 30-bed ER, a neuroscience/spine center and the opening of Medical City ER White Settlement. Sims joined HCA Healthcare in 2011, serving as vice president and chief operating officer at Tulane Health System in New Orleans, Louisiana; chief operating officer of St. Lucie Medical Center in Port St. Lucie, Florida; and associate chief operating officer at Clear Lake Regional Medical Center in Webster, Texas.
Dedicated to community service, Sims currently serves on the American Hospital Association Regional Policy Board, LSU Foundation Board as the chair of the finance committee, Plano Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, and formerly North Texas ACHE Chapter Board.
Sims received a doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.) in Public Policy from Southern University in Baton Rouge, master’s degree in Health Administration from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and holds an undergraduate degree from Louisiana State University. He is also a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.
Chari began his HCA Healthcare career in 2008 as chief medical officer of TriStar Centennial Medical Center in Nashville following his medical career as a transplant surgeon. He later served as COO of the Sarah Cannon Cancer Centers for the TriStar Division and then as chief medical officer of HCA Healthcare’s TriStar Division. In 2011, Chari was appointed vice president of clinical excellence for HCA Healthcare and was promoted to senior vice president of clinical excellence in 2015.
He became president of the West Florida Division in 2018. In that role, Chari led the expansion of healthcare services across Tampa Bay and the west coast of Florida. Under Chari’s leadership, the division enhanced its hospitals’ transplant, oncology, and Graduate Medical Education programs, and improved employee engagement and physician satisfaction, while also earning national certifications for its trauma and burn care programs.
“Throughout Ravi’s years at HCA Healthcare, he has built a reputation for developing others and leveraging innovation to improve patient care, with a genuine compassion for his colleagues and the patients we serve,” said Hammett. “We are grateful for Ravi’s contributions and wish him the best in this new chapter.”
