Kyle Buchanan Named President of Crestwood Medical Center

Crestwood Medical Center and Huntsville Hospital Health System announced today that Kyle Buchanan, current president of Helen Keller Hospital and Red Bay Hospital, has been named president of Crestwood Medical Center.

Buchanan is a Tuscumbia native and a proven, community-focused leader with more than 20 years of experience delivering strong results across operations, patient care, and workforce engagement. In his current role, he has strengthened overall hospital performance, including significant gains in physician engagement and stability, including several new physician partnerships.

“Kyle is the right leader to support the excellent team at Crestwood,” said HH Health CEO Jeff Samz. “It was important to us to find someone with deep roots in North Alabama and a genuine commitment to this community. Kyle brings that, along with a strong track record of supporting caregivers and advancing high-quality care. He will build on the great work already happening at Crestwood and help strengthen its future as part of our nonprofit health system.”

Buchanan will report to Tracy Doughty, HH Health executive vice president of Madison County operations, and will work closely with the Crestwood Board and senior leadership team to support team members, expand access to care, and more fully utilize the capacity of Crestwood Medical Center.

“I’m excited about the leadership and energy Kyle will bring to Crestwood,” Doughty said. “He is a true servant leader who understands that strong patient care starts with strong teams. His focus on people, culture and performance will support Crestwood’s continued success and reinforce its role as a trusted community hospital.”

Buchanan succeeds Justin Serrano, who accepted a new leadership role with Community Health Systems in Naples, Florida. The remainder of Crestwood’s senior leadership team will remain in place.

“Crestwood has a longstanding reputation for caring for this community, and I’m honored to be part of that,” Buchanan said. “I know this has been a time of change, and I want our patients and team members to feel confident in what comes next. Crestwood remains Crestwood — your physicians, your care teams and the experience you trust are not changing. We will build on that strong foundation and continue investing in our people and services to best serve this incredible community.”

Prior to serving the Shoals community, Buchanan led Huntsville Hospital for Women & Children, Alabama Community Care and Lawrence Medical Center. He is committed to the communities he serves, with leadership roles at both the local and state level, including Leadership Alabama, the University of North Alabama Board of Trustees and the Shoals Chamber of Commerce. His impact has been recognized with Citizen of the Year honors from both the North Alabama African Heritage Festival and the Sheffield Kiwanis Club. He is also active in his church, where he serves as a Sunday school teacher and deacon board vice-chairman at Mt. Moriah Baptist Church.

He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Alabama and master’s degrees in Health Services Administration and Business Administration from the University of Michigan and the University of Alabama at Birmingham, respectively.

Buchanan’s first day at Crestwood will be Monday, April 20.

As Buchanan transitions to Crestwood, leadership in the Shoals will continue without interruption and remain in experienced hands. Sherry Sands will step in as interim president for Helen Keller and Red Bay Hospitals. Sands joined the hospitals’ leadership team in March 2020 as vice president of patient services and chief nursing officer, and brings 25 years of nursing and leadership experience. She previously served as CNO of Southern Tennessee Regional Health System in Pulaski, Tenn.

Exterior photo of the front of Crestwood Medical Center

Crestwood Medical Center Joins Huntsville Hospital Health System

Written by Shelley Henson on April 1, 2026. Posted in 2026.

Crestwood Medical Center Joins Huntsville Hospital Health System

Investment in local health care strengthens access, coordination and long-term stability for patients

Crestwood Medical Center is now part of Huntsville Hospital Health System, bringing the hospital under local nonprofit ownership and strengthening health care access for patients and families across North Alabama.

The transition follows Community Health Systems’ decision to sell Crestwood as part of a broader effort to reduce debt across its national hospital portfolio. When the hospital became available, Huntsville Hospital Health System (HH Health) stepped forward to keep Crestwood locally operated, ensuring future decisions and investments remain focused on the needs of Madison County patients, with resources staying here in the community.

The agreement includes Crestwood Medical Center and its associated facilities, including clinics, outpatient services and its freestanding emergency department.

As part of HH Health, Crestwood becomes part of a coordinated regional network connecting hospitals and ensuring care is available in communities throughout the region.

“We are excited to welcome the Crestwood team into the Huntsville Hospital family and proud of the care they provide,” said Jeff Samz, CEO of Huntsville Hospital Health System. “What this does is strengthen that care and keep it rooted in this community. Bringing Crestwood into our system will have meaningful, positive outcomes for patients, especially in high-need areas like emergency care, labor and delivery, stroke care, and trauma services.”

Early priorities for integration and investment include:

Evaluating and updating equipment and technology to enhance delivery of care
Utilizing previously unused space across the hospital, including patient rooms
Strengthening nurse compensation to support recruitment and retention across both campuses
Coordinating care between hospitals to ensure patients get the right care, in the right place, at the right time
Implementing a single electronic health record to enhance continuity of care for patients and provide easier access to information for caregivers

As a nonprofit community-based health system, HH Health reinvests resources directly into patient care, facilities, technology and workforce development across North Alabama and southern Tennessee.

“We think decisions about local health care should be made locally with you in mind,” Samz said. “Starting today, any profit generated by Crestwood will remain right here in our community to serve you – not sent to shareholders or out of state.”

Crestwood Medical Center will continue operating under its name and identity, including its colors and logo. Patients can continue seeing their physicians and receiving care at Crestwood just as they did previously, with no planned changes to services or operations.

“We’re proud of the care the Crestwood team provides every day and excited to continue that work as part of Huntsville Hospital Health System,” said Mike Gillespie, chair of the Crestwood Medical Center Board of Trustees. “Crestwood’s focus remains the same – taking care of patients and supporting the health of this community. We’re confident this partnership allows us to do that on an even larger scale, with added stability and new opportunities to reinvest in equipment, technology and infrastructure that will benefit both our patients and caregivers.”

Some community members have raised questions about how the transition may affect health care choice and competition in the Huntsville area. HH Health leaders noted that the hospital will continue operating separately, and patients will continue to have choices about where they receive care and which physicians they see.

“We aren’t changing the things that make Crestwood special,” Samz said. “If you’ve chosen Crestwood for your care, that choice remains. Your physicians, your care teams and the experience you value will continue to be here for you. What this partnership allows us to do is better coordinate care, expand services where they’re needed most and make sure our community has the health care capacity it needs as Huntsville continues to grow. We’re bringing together the strengths of both organizations to build something even stronger for North Alabama, because this community is worth it.”

HH Health has served North Alabama for more than 130 years and today operates 15 hospitals across the region, including several rural hospitals that might otherwise have closed without local investment and support. This regional approach helps ensure patients can access high-quality care in their own neighborhoods and eases patient volumes and wait times across Huntsville Hospital’s main downtown campus.

The system will continue prioritizing investments that further expand access to care across the region, including recently announced freestanding emergency departments in north Huntsville and Hampton Cove, as well as a new outpatient medical facility serving Lawrence County residents.

“At the end of the day, this is about caring for our community,” Samz said. “We will continue working every day to provide compassionate, high-quality care close to home. We are honored to serve you and are committed to delivering care you can depend on.”

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