AHA Board Names John Haupert Chair-Elect Designate

WASHINGTON (July 28, 2021) – The American Hospital Association (AHA) Board of Trustees has elected John Haupert, president and CEO of Grady Health System in Atlanta, as its Chair-elect Designate. Haupert will be the 2023 chair of the AHA, becoming the top-elected official of the national organization that represents America’s hospitals and health systems and works to advance health in America.

Haupert began his tenure at Grady in October 2011. Grady is the primary Level I trauma center and burn center for the Atlanta metropolitan area. In addition, Grady is home to many nationally recognized clinical services including the Marcus Neuroscience and Stroke Center, the Correll Cardiac Center, the Georgia Cancer Center for Excellence, Hughes-Spalding Children’s Hospital and Grady EMS, one of the largest hospital-based EMS agencies in the country. Grady also serves as the primary training site for the Morehouse and Emory Schools of Medicine.

His career in health care management began at Methodist Health System in Dallas in 1992, where he served for fourteen years in various roles, including president of one of the system’s hospitals and as executive vice president for corporate services and business development. In October 2006, Haupert left the Methodist Health System to become the chief operating officer at Parkland Health and Hospital System in Dallas.

“My election as Chair-elect Designate is a tremendous honor. I am most appreciative of this important opportunity and I look forward to working with my fellow AHA members to address the issues hospitals face now and in the future,” said Haupert. 

Haupert currently serves as immediate past-chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Georgia Hospital Association. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce and is a member of the Rotary Club of Atlanta. He also serves as a member of the Board of Directors for The Atlanta Committee for Progress.  In 2015, he was appointed by Governor Nathan Deal to serve as a member of the board of the Georgia Department of Public Health.  

Nationally, Haupert served on the Board of Trustees of the American Hospital Association from 2018 to 2020 and on its executive committee in 2020. He is the current chair of the AHA’s Strategic Leadership Group for Urban Hospital Sustainability and a member of the AHA’s Institute for Diversity and Health Equity (IFDHE) Leadership Council. He is a former chair of the Board of Directors of America’s Essential Hospitals.

In 2019, Haupert was named by The CEO Forum as one of the “10 CEOs Transforming Healthcare in America.” Also in 2019, he became the ninth Georgia hospital leader since 1978 to receive the Georgia Hospital Association Gold Honor Award. In addition, he received the Healthcare Legend Award from The Legendary Foundation in 2018, the Leadership Award from National Medical Fellowships in 2017, and the Grassroots Champion Award by The American Hospital Association in 2016.  

Haupert is a native of Ft. Smith, Ark., and a graduate of Trinity University in San Antonio, where he earned a Master of Science Degree in Health Care Administration. He also received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Trinity.

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Contact:    Marie Johnson, mjohnson@aha.org
                 Colin Milligan, cmilligan@aha.org