Maury Baker has worked at four HCA Healthcare hospitals in two states. In August he went back to the one where his children were born, this time as its chief executive.

Baker became CEO of HCA Healthcare Summerville Hospital on Aug. 3, the Post and Courier’s Moultrie News reported. He had most recently been chief operating officer at HCA Healthcare Trident Hospital in North Charleston. Before that, he spent nearly two years as Summerville’s chief operating officer, from December 2022 through October 2024.

“Returning to Summerville Hospital truly feels like coming home,” Baker said in HCA’s July 31 announcement. He said the hospital “cared for my wife and welcomed both of our children into the world.”

“My wife and I are proud to call Summerville home, where we’ve chosen to live, raise our family and be part of this great community,” he said.

Filling an empty chair

The job opened in March. Stephen Chandler, the previous CEO, joined Winchester Hospital in Massachusetts as president, that hospital announced March 18. In its announcement of the Cane Bay ER groundbreaking, held in late May, HCA identified Jeff Taylor as Summerville Hospital’s interim CEO.

Hugh C. Tappan, president of HCA Healthcare’s South Atlantic Division, said in the July announcement that Baker’s “familiarity with the hospital, commitment to servant leadership and proven track record of operational excellence make him the ideal leader to guide Summerville Hospital through its next phase of growth.”

A Virginia start

Baker grew up in Charlottesville, Virginia, according to The Roanoker magazine, which named him to its 40 Under 40 list in early 2023, when he was 29. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business management from Virginia Tech and a master’s in health administration from Virginia Commonwealth University. He is a 2021 graduate of HCA’s Executive Development Program, according to the magazine and HCA.

HCA says he joined the company in 2019. Before LewisGale, he was vice president of operations at Colleton Medical Center, an HCA hospital in South Carolina, The Roanoker reported.

In September 2021 he became vice president of operations at LewisGale Medical Center, a 506-bed hospital serving the Roanoke area. There he provided administrative oversight for more than $40 million in infrastructure and construction projects, according to the magazine, and was involved in a $20 million project to replace the hospital’s heating and air conditioning system. He also led the construction and opening of the hospital’s second freestanding emergency room, Blue Hills ER.

“I am passionate about improving the lives of others,” Baker told The Roanoker.

He came back to South Carolina for the Summerville operations job in late 2022. After that, he moved to Trident as chief operating officer.

The hospital he inherits

Summerville Hospital has invested more than $300 million over the past decade, according to HCA. The work includes a $67 million inpatient tower expansion that raised its licensed beds by 40% to 174 private beds, a $24 million emergency department expansion with a dedicated pediatric ER, and a $61 million expansion of women’s, neonatal and surgical services. The hospital also opened a Level III neonatal intensive care unit and has eight robotic surgical systems, HCA said.

The hospital opened Brighton Park ER, a freestanding emergency room near Nexton, and broke ground this year on HCA Healthcare Cane Bay ER, which is scheduled to open in spring 2027 to serve Cane Bay, Nexton, Del Webb and Carnes Crossroads.

Baker takes over as competitors build nearby. Roper St. Francis Healthcare held a ribbon cutting in June for a Summerville health pavilion with a 24-hour emergency department, the Post and Courier reported. Novant Health has said it expects to open an emergency department and medical office building in the Summers Corner community in Dorchester County in late 2026.

Baker’s statement focused on the people inside the building. He said the hospital’s nurses, colleagues and physicians “care for our patients and one another like family.”

“I look forward to serving this community, investing in our people, and building on the strong foundation of exceptional care that has made Summerville Hospital a trusted healthcare partner for generations of Lowcountry families,” he said.