Richard “Rick” Grooms has been named chief human resources officer of Southeast Georgia Health System, effective June 20, 2022.

Grooms’ areas of responsibility will include Human Resources, Organizational Development and Education, Clinical Education, and Health Promotion & Wellness.

“Rick has more than 30 years of human resources experience within the health care industry,” says Scott Raynes, MBA, MA, president and chief executive officer, Southeast Georgia Health System. “We look forward to his contributions and leadership as we continue to focus on team member engagement, recruitment and retention programs, and leadership development.”

In addition to extensive executive level experience, Grooms has successfully achieved many accomplishments throughout his career. They range from implementing organizational and leadership development programs, initiating team driven cultural enhancement programs, enhancing health plan benefit designs, and executing recruitment and retention programs and new talent acquisition performance management systems.

Prior to joining the Health System, Grooms served as senior vice president and chief people officer at Centra Health, a five-hospital health system with 7,500 employees headquartered in Lynchburg, Virginia. Before Centra Health, Grooms was chief human resources officer at AnMed Health in Anderson, South Carolina.

Grooms earned his Bachelor of Science in business administration from The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina. He earned a Master of Arts in public administration and management from Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas, and he also holds a National Society for Human Resources Professionals Senior Certification (SPHR). Additionally, Grooms enjoys being heavily involved in the community through volunteering and by serving on and leading various boards.