Leadership
Scott Lowe
Chief Executive Officer - Market
Market CEO Scott Lowe brings more than 20 years of administrative experience in both operations and finance to Physicians Regional Healthcare System. Prior to being named market CEO, he served as the CEO at Physicians Regional - Collier Boulevard for two years. Following this role, he served as the system chief financial officer (CFO).
His prior experience and education are notable. Scott joined Cleveland Clinic Florida in 1998 as part of the management team that developed and opened the Naples campus and remained as the director of finance for all Florida operations until 2005. He was the CFO of Surgery Partners, LLC, in Tampa from 2005 to 2008 prior to returning to Naples to join Physicians Regional Healthcare System. His earlier career includes appointments in managed care with Neighborhood Health Partners and Blue Cross Blue Shield.
He holds a master's degree in business administration from the University of Miami, a master's degree in public health from the University of Texas and a bachelor's degree from the University of Virginia. Scott is very involved in the Collier County community, and has held board positions with the Marco Island YMCA and the Marco Island Charter Middle School Board and has participated in various civic activities.
Sylvia Coffing
Market Chief Quality Officer
Sylvia, DNP, CHC, is an accomplished executive bringing more than 10 years of experience in integrity-based leadership and clinical operations to our organization. Sylvia has previous experience serving as vice president of quality and clinical operations, chief nursing officer, as well as chief compliance officer for eight years in Indiana. She is equipped with expertise in key areas of an acute care hospital setting including: risk management, infection control, national quality reporting, QAPI, regulatory, accreditation, root cause analysis (RCA's), RAC reviews, legal claims, company policies, PT/OT, clinical laboratory, case management, utilization review, patient engagement, organ procurement and physician practices/ISPINE.
Sylvia holds a doctorate degree in executive leadership from American Sentinel University, a master's degree in nursing education, a Bachelor of Science in nursing from Wesleyan University and a diploma in registered nursing from St. Mary's School of Nursing.
Melonie Pipes
Market Chief Financial Officer
Melonie comes to us from Covenant Health System/Providence Health System in Lubbock, TX, where she served as chief financial officer since 2019. Prior to that Melonie held several positions with Grace Health System/Grace Clinic Holdings LLC, including chief financial officer and compliance officer. Originally hired as the controller of Grace Healthcare, she was key for the ground-up build for the newly established healthcare startup entity. She received her Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting from Texas Tech University and qualified by Texas State Board for the CPA Exam.
Karim Ghanem
Market Chief Operating Officer
Karim comes to us from ShorePoint Health – Punta Gorda & Port Charlotte where he served as market chief operating officer. Prior to joining us, Karim worked for HCA Healthcare in various leadership roles, most recently at Florida Fort Walton Destin Hospital where he served as vice president of operations, co-ethics & compliance officer. Prior to that he was the HCA Capital Division director of performance improvement responsible for 23 emergency medicine departments in 17 HCA facilities.
Before moving to the administrative side of healthcare Karim was an emergency medicine physician assistant serving as the emergency medicine lead advanced practice clinician and EM advanced practice clinician at Henrico Doctors Hospital in Virginia.
Karim earned his degree in business administration from Chapman Graduate School of Business in Miami, FL. He has his Masters of Medical Sciences - PA studies from Wake Forest School of Medicine in Winston Salem, NC, and a Bachelor of Science in Human Biology from North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC.
Karl Leistikow
Chief Executive Officer - Collier Blvd Campus
Karl Leistikow, chief executive officer, brings more than 16 years of healthcare leadership experience to this role. He is focused on customer service, strategic initiatives and quality, as well as building collaborative relationships with physicians and employees. Leistikow joins Scott Lowe, Physicians Regional Healthcare System's market CEO, in developing strategic initiatives for the Collier campus.
Leistikow comes to Physicians Regional Healthcare System from Swedish Medical Center, HCA Healthcare in Englewood Colorado, where he served as the chief operating officer.
Prior to joining Swedish Medical Center, Leistikow was the chief operating officer of Summerville Medical Center, HCA Healthcare – Summerville, SC; vice president of operations of Trident Medical Center, HCA Healthcare; and division director of project management at HCA Healthcare, South Atlantic Division. His development and operational experience includes leading and overseeing significant growth and expansion initiatives, including new patient towers, surgical services, cath lab, imaging capabilities, and the ED. Additionally he oversaw the development of inpatient rehab, Level 1 trauma and burn programs, a comprehensive stroke program, a cancer pavilion, and the most extensive robotics program in the Great Rocky Mountain Region.
He received Master of Business Administration and Master of Public Health degrees from the University of Alabama (Birmingham) and a Bachelor of Arts in biology from Ripon College.
Suzanne Bertsch Gibson
Market Chief Nursing Officer
Suzanne Gibson, MSN, MHSC, R.N., CENP, brings extensive experience to the leadership team as chief nursing officer at the Collier Blvd campus. Suzanne has proven to be committed and proactive with dedication to delivering quality, compassionate care, creating efficient work systems, and managing a nursing team focused on improving the patient experience and ensuring quality patient outcomes while improving nursing engagement and working towards turnover reduction.
Suzanne most recently served as chief nursing officer for JFK Hospital in Atlantis, FL. Prior to that she was the CNO for the Johnston-Willis Hospital in Richmond, VA. Additional leadership roles include ACNO for Memorial Hospital and Lawnwood Regional Medical Center & Heart Institute eventually becoming the interim chief nursing officer at Lawnwood.
Suzanne received her associate degree in business administration from Georgia Military College in Milledgeville, GA, and her AS in nursing from Florida Community College. She then pursued her BSN and Master of Health Sciences from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale. Rounding out her education is an MSN in leadership and management from Western Governors University.
Krista Hawkinson
Chief Nursing Officer Collier Blvd Hospital
Krista comes to Physicians Regional from HCA Florida JFK Hospital, where she served as assistant chief nursing officer for the past two years. During her time at JFK, she helped champion a significant reduction in RN turnover, decreased hospital acquired infections by over 50%, and facilitated consistent improvement in both patient experience and patient throughput over quarter.
Krista began her healthcare career as a nurse in the emergency room at Hartford Hospital, a level 1 Trauma Center in Hartford, Connecticut, before joining HCA Florida Palms West as the director of emergency services.
Krista is currently pursuing her Doctor of Strategic Leadership from Liberty University, where she also obtained a master's in nursing administration and a master's in business administration.