Tom Scott will become president and chief executive officer at CentraState Healthcare System after seven years as a senior vice president and chief operating officer, effective April 9. He succeeds John Gribbin, who announced his retirement in February after leading the hospital for 22 years.

In his new role, Scott will oversee the 284-bed acute care hospital, three senior living communities housing 630 residents, an ambulatory campus, four satellite health pavilions, a family medicine residency program and more than 2,600 employees.

“Tom was the unanimous choice of our board after a deliberate process,” said John Cantalupo, CentraState’s chairman of the board of trustees. “He is a well-respected leader who was instrumental in growing this organization to its present state, who also has a strong vision for navigating challenges in the health care landscape, now and into the future.” He added that the board of trustees carefully designed a succession plan years ago to ensure that the next president and CEO would have the knowledge, experience and leadership skills to serve CentraState’s employees, patients and community.

Scott joined CentraState in 2015 as COO after seven years in the same role at Chilton Medical Center in Pompton Plains. Prior to that, he held management positions at Stamford Hospital in Stamford, Conn., and St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center in Paterson.

As CentraState’s COO, Scott integrated the health care system’s strategic vision with its operations, while fostering a culture of teamwork, innovation, accountability and excellence. Areas of direct oversight included nursing, clinical services, information technology, physician practice management, senior services, facilities, cancer and cardiology services.

During his tenure, Scott helped guide the organization through the COVID-19 pandemic, the COVID-19 vaccination rollout, and other major initiatives including the opening of a new cardiovascular interventional suite as a single-story addition to the hospital campus and a solar initiative that produces approximately 70% of the hospital’s electric needs.

More recently, Scott crafted a physician development plan that will add 60 primary care and specialists over the next two years, and led the technology transition to the Epic electronic health record and MyChart patient portal.

“I appreciate the confidence the CentraState board and physicians have displayed in selecting me as president and CEO,” Scott said. “I look forward to transitioning to my new role and continuing CentraState’s commitment to clinical excellence, physician engagement, and value based strategies to improve access to high quality, affordable health care.”