FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more information: Marilyn K. Potts, APR, Public Relations/Marketing Specialist-(210) 575-0170

SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Ashley S. Hixon, MHA, CHE, has been appointed Chief Operating Officer serving two Methodist Healthcare facilities – Metropolitan Methodist Hospital and Northeast Methodist Hospital, each of which are in the midst of $50 million building projects to greatly expand the capacity for patient care and advanced technology in an enhanced environment.

“Ashley is responsible for many of the non-nursing areas in her role as COO,” said CEO Mark Bernard, in making the announcement. "We are excited to bring her experience and enthusiasm to this management team."

Hixon, a Trinity University graduate (MHA, 2000), returns to San Antonio after serving as chief operating officer at Westside Regional Medical Center in Plantation, Florida. She previously served at St. Mark’s Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah. Both hospitals are comparable in patient volume/capacity to Metropolitan Methodist Hospital.

Her experience also includes an internship at a San Antonio heart care facility. She did her undergraduate work in pre-med and Spanish at Hollins University, Roanoke, Virginia. Ashley Hixon is board certified in healthcare management, a diplomate of the American College of Healthcare Executives and has served on the ACHE Regents’ Advisory Council.

Methodist Healthcare is San Antonio’s largest and most preferred health care provider whose facilities include seven acute care hospitals: Methodist Children’s Hospital of South Texas, Methodist Hospital, Methodist Heart Hospital, Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital, Northeast Methodist Hospital, Metropolitan Methodist Hospital and Methodist Ambulatory Surgery Hospital--Northwest.