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Dr. Mary Jo Cagle, the president and CEO of Cone Health, is stepping down to deal with a serious family health matter. Her last day will be May 31.
“It has been a joy and privilege to lead this system,” Cagle said in a press statement Wednesday. “I’m incredibly proud of all we’ve accomplished to increase access to care, enhance patient safety and care quality. The future is bright as Cone Health leverages new approaches, capabilities and data to make proactive wellness care affordable and accessible for all.”
Cagle, the first physician and first woman to lead the health system, saw it through the COVID-19 pandemic and a recent acquisition by Risant Health.
The system will name a new chief operating officer in the next few weeks, it said in a statement Wednesday. Bernard “Bernie” Sherry will act as interim CEO beginning June 1. Sherry has been the interim chief operating officer since December of last year. Cone Health has begun a nationwide search for its next permanent CEO.
“It has been a joy and privilege to lead this system.”
Mary Jo Cagle, president and CEO of Cone Health
“Dr. Cagle has brought exceptional leadership and care to this system as CEO over the last few years and made a lasting impact on all our communities,” said Dr. Yun Boylston, chair of the Cone Health Board of Trustees. “On behalf of our entire Board of Trustees, we are saddened about her departure but fully respect her decision to support her family.”
Mayor Nancy Vaughan said Cagle called to talk to her before the departure was announced.
“I’ve really enjoyed working with Dr. Cagle over the years,” Vaughan told The Assembly. “I think she really reconfirmed Cone’s commitment to the city of Greensboro, to addressing health disparities, especially in East Greensboro with their commitment to the Winsor Chavis Nocho Community Complex.”
At the last Greensboro City Council meeting, the council accepted a $5 million investment from Cone to the complex, Vaughan said. That’s significant for East Greensboro, she said, and one of a number of things Cone is now doing for the area.
Cagle was also a steady hand that guided Cone through its recent acquisition deal with Risant, Vaughan said, avoiding other deals she and Cone’s board didn’t believe would be best for Greensboro.
“They have an agreement with Risant now that I believe will be good for Cone, good for Greensboro and Guilford County,” Vaughan said.
Edward Cone was the fourth generation of his family to serve on the system’s board before his term ended in December. Cagle is a strong leader he considers a friend, he told The Assembly Wednesday.
“She was the person who was contacted by Risant and [Kaiser Permanente] and saw us through that deal,” Cone said. “She’s been a great leader of the system, a great leader in this community, and a model for physician leadership, a woman in leadership when that was less common than it is now.”
“I’m not just sorry to see her go, I’m sorry that she has to go,” Cone said. “I’m sorry that this problem exists in her life, with her family, and second that we lose her leadership,” Cone said.
“But she got us here, and I’m very happy we had her.”
Joe Killian is The Assembly’s Greensboro editor. He covered cops, courts, government and politics at Greensboro’s daily paper, The News & Record, for a decade. He joined us from NC Newsline in Raleigh, where he was senior investigative reporter.