Chesapeake Regional Healthcare CEO suddenly departs role

Chesapeake Regional Healthcare President and CEO Reese Jackson is no longer serving in the role after a decade leading the Hampton Roads health system.

In a statement, the Chesapeake Hospital Authority Board announced that Jackson’s tenure as president and CEO ended on May 30. The board appointed Chief Operating Officer and Nursing Officer Amber Egyud to serve as interim CEO.

“Mr. Jackson is thanked for his service and wished the best in his future endeavors,” the board statement read.

The board provided no further details about the reason for Jackson’s departure or its timeline for finding a permanent CEO, and the health system declined to comment this week.

The leadership change comes as the health system continues to face litigation related to former OB-GYN Javaid Perwaiz, who was convicted in 2020 of healthcare fraud and is serving a 59-year prison sentence.

In December 2025, more than 500 former patients sued Jackson and two former CEOs in Chesapeake Circuit Court for $10 million each for negligence, alleging they enabled Perwaiz to perform unnecessary medical procedures, including hysterectomies, for nearly a decade. In March, multiple news outlets reported that the number of plaintiffs had grown to more than 900.

And in January 2025, a federal grand jury indicted Chesapeake Regional Healthcare on charges of healthcare fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States and interference with government functions. The federal government claims the hospital received approximately $18.5 million in reimbursements from healthcare benefit programs for surgical and obstetric procedures performed by Perwaiz at the facility between 2010 and 2019.

Chesapeake Regional Healthcare previously characterized the indictment as an “excessive overreach” by the federal government.

Jackson could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Egyud has worked at Chesapeake Regional since 2017, serving as COO and chief nursing officer. The health system credited her with playing a key role in advancing strategic growth, expanding critical service lines, improving quality outcomes and leading major initiatives, including development of the critical care tower and cancer treatment center and operational leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chesapeake Regional Healthcare includes one hospital, Chesapeake Regional Medical Center, and more than 50 practice locations. The health system employs about 600 physicians.