Riverside Health System to get new CEO in 2023

Newport News-based Riverside Health System will start 2023 with a transition to a new CEO, the health care system announced Wednesday.

Bill Downey will step down after 40 years with Riverside, the past 12 years of which he served as CEO. Riverside’s president and chief operating officer, Dr. Michael Dacey, will take over as CEO on Jan. 1, 2023, also retaining his title as president, according to Riverside. Downey will then transition to executive vice chairman and special adviser, roles he will hold until his retirement in 2024, creating a yearlong transition.

“Mike has been an incredible asset to Riverside before and during the pandemic in his role as chief operating officer,” Board of Directors Chairman Gabe Morgan said in a statement. “He and Bill have worked so well together during the past five years, and we know he will take Riverside to even greater success. We want to thank Bill for his almost 40 years of service to Riverside. Bill has worked tirelessly to enhance our team members and community engagement. During his 12-year tenure as president and CEO, Riverside Health System has seen significant growth through expansion, and the use of digital technologies benefiting team members, patients, residents and our communities.”

Before joining Riverside in 2018, Dacey held positions at Care New England, including president, chief medical officer and critical care service life chief. He graduated from Providence College in Rhode Island and George Washington University School of Medicine. Dacey completed an internal medicine residency at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, a critical medicine fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and holds a master’s degree in health care management from the Harvard School of Public Health.

Riverside has 9,000 employees and operates seven hospitals in Newport News, Williamsburg, Hampton, Yorktown, Gloucester and Onancock.