The Robert C. Byrd Clinic (RCBC) Board of Directors has named a new chief executive officer.

Scot Mitchell, MHSA, FACHE, will oversee clinic operations in his new role beginning July 15. Most recently he was the CEO of Cordova Community Medical Center, a critical access hospital in Alaska.

“I’m really looking forward to getting to know and work with the staff and physicians at the clinic and the staff at the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine. Working together we will create an organization that continues the successes the clinic has had over the years and expand upon them so the community views the Robert C. Byrd Clinic as their health care provider of first choice,” he said. “I’m also excited to become a part of the nationally recognized WVSOM training program where the clinic serves as one of the first locations that the medical students work with their professors to provide quality health care services.”

John Garlitz, D.O., RCBC Board of Directors chair and WVSOM professor, said the board selected Mitchell based on his past experience, past ties to the local area and interaction with the staff during the interview process.

Mitchell has more than 27 years of experience working in health care services in rural communities. For more than 15 years, he served as a hospital and clinic CEO in facilities ranging in size from a 23-bed critical access hospital to a 95-bed sole community hospital.

He previously served as a budget and policy analyst for the Senate Health Committee in the West Virginia legislature. He is a native of Oceana, WV, and lived in Summers County for several years where he served as administrator of Summers County ARH Hospital, part of Appalachian Regional Healthcare.

Mitchell has a Master of Health Services Administration degree from the Medical University of South Carolina and a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Concord University, formerly Concord College. He is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.