Andy Wachtel, FACHE, has been named chief executive officer of Saint Thomas DeKalb, Highlands and Stones River hospitals. Wachtel, who began his new role on Oct. 10, most recently served as CEO of Alliance Health in Ponca City, Okla., where he was responsible for 140-bed Alliance Health Ponca City hospital and 53-bed Alliance Health Blackwell hospital, which merged their management teams in 2014.

Wachtel received his master's degree in Public Health from the University of Oklahoma Health Science Center in Oklahoma City and his undergraduate degree from Southern Nazarene University in Bethany, Okla.