V.I. Government Health and Hospital Corporation has announced the appointment of Luis O. Amaro M.D. as interim chief executive officer of Schneider Regional Medical Center.
During a meeting held today with Schneider Regional Medical Center’s (SRMC) leadership, department directors and managers, Kirk Callwood, territorial board chairman, announced that, effective immediately, Dr. Luis Amaro will serve as the organization’s chief executive until the appointment of a permanent CEO is named.
Amaro, who served as the chief medical officer of Schneider Regional Medical Center since 2015, has more than 15-years of medical, business and leadership experience. He earned his Doctorate Degree in Medicine from Wright State University – School of Medicine, and he completed his internship and residency in internal medicine and pediatrics at the University of Miami, Jackson Memorial Medical Center/Miller School of Medicine. Dr. Amaro is dually board-certified in internal medicine and pediatrics.
Amaro, a native Virgin Islander, has been employed with SRMC since 2005 and has served in various leadership positions there since his return home, which include chief of medicine, president of the medical staff and vice-president of the medical staff.
He also owns a thriving medical practice on St. Thomas, Comprehensive Primary Care Specialists LLC. Dr. Amaro replaces Dr. Bernard Wheatley, who served as CEO from 2013 to 2019.
Territorial Board Chairman Callwood thanked former CEO Dr. Bernard Wheatley for his service and for successfully leading SRMC out of the red and into the black.
Callwood said, “The Board is confident in Dr. Amaro’s ability to not only maintain the organization’s stability but also to lead the hospital through its next growth phase.”
He stated they are looking at “Dr. Amaro to carry the torch and to making the system even better.”
Callwood also mentioned that the V.I. Government Health and Hospital Corporation Board of Directors is in the process of reviewing a contract to secure a search firm to identify long-term CEO candidates.