Rex Healthcare Board Selects Steve Burriss as President
RALEIGH, N.C. – Rex Healthcare is proud to announce that its board has appointed Steve Burriss to lead the health system as president, effective April 1.
“Rex is incredibly lucky to have someone with Steve’s ability, leadership and knowledge of Rex and our community to lead our organization,” said Robert S. Thomas, chairman of the Rex Board of Trustees. “The board has great confidence in Steve’s strategic thinking and in his ability to foster relationships among our physicians, co-workers and in the community.”
Burriss replaces former Rex President David Strong, who is leaving to serve Orlando Health as its president and CEO. Burriss was named interim president in January.
Burriss, 48, has served as chief operating officer at Rex, an affiliate of UNC Health Care, since April 2012. He oversees all operations at the 660-bed organization, at six locations in Wake County, with more than 5,600 co-workers.
“Steve is the right person to carry on Rex’s proud culture of providing the highest quality care to all patients and their families,” said Gary Park, president of UNC Hospitals and a Rex board member. “He brings an ability to adapt quickly to the changing health care landscape.”
Burriss’ appointment comes as Rex celebrates the 15th anniversary of joining UNC Health Care in April 2000. Burriss will oversee Rex as it builds the largest expansion since moving to its current campus in 1980: the eight-story, 300,000 square-foot N.C. Heart & Vascular Hospital, which is scheduled to open in 2017.
Prior to his role as COO, Burriss served as senior vice president of operations and ambulatory services, managing a variety of areas, including Rex Cancer Center, heart and vascular services, physician services and ambulatory services. Under Burriss’ leadership, Rex added three new health campuses, two joint venture surgery centers and more than 150 physicians. “Rex is a special place and I’m honored the board has selected me to serve in this role,” said Burriss. “Rex has a proud history and a bright future. I look forward to working alongside our co-workers and physicians in serving our community.”
Burriss joined Rex Healthcare in 1998 as director of human resources and was later promoted to vice president of human resources. Burriss was named a “COO to know” by Becker’s Hospital Review in 2013 and received recognition from the Triangle Business Journal as “40 Under 40.” During his tenure, Rex was highlighted as one of the Top 50 Hospitals in the U.S. by Becker’s Hospital Review.
Burriss actively volunteers throughout the Triangle community. He served on the executive leadership team for the American Heart Association, the board for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, the executive leadership committee for Light the Night Walk, the board of directors for the Cary Chamber of Commerce and the Healthcare Works Coalition. He currently serves as the 2015 March of Dimes’ Triangle March for Babies Chairman and on the board of directors for the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce and the North Carolina Symphony.
Burriss earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business and an MBA from Marshall University. He lives in Raleigh with his wife, Tina, and has two children in college.
