Slidell Memorial Hospital selects David Grizzard to become Chief Financial Officer

(July 1, 2020 – Slidell, La.) – Slidell Memorial Hospital (SMH) has selected David Grizzard as its Chief Financial Officer. Grizzard, who has served as the Chief Operating Officer at SMH since August 2019, will begin his new position immediately.

Under terms of the partnership between SMH and Ochsner Health, Grizzard is now the CFO of the Slidell division, including SMH, Ochsner Medical Center – Northshore and related clinics and outpatient facilities. In this position, Grizzard will report to Chief Executive Officer Sandy Badinger.

“Being a part of the team at SMH and working closely with Ochsner has given me a unique perspective into all the inventive things we are doing as partners,” said Grizzard. “My wife, Nita, and I have enjoyed making Slidell our home over the past year, and I’m excited to help do more in our community in this new position.”

Grizzard, who has nearly 20 years of healthcare leadership experience, most recently served as the Chief Financial Officer since 2013 at Baptist Medical Center East, a 150-bed, not-for-profit, acute care hospital in Montgomery.

“David’s prior experience as Chief Financial Officer and his current knowledge of the SMH-Ochsner partnership give him a great understanding of our collaborative strategy here in Slidell,” said Badinger, CEO of SMH and Ochsner Medical Center – Northshore. “We are confident that he can successfully help our hospitals and clinics grow sustainably, and ultimately, bring more innovation, providers and services to our patients on the Northshore.”

“We are incredibly pleased that David will lead both organizations as the Chief Financial Officer, and with his financial knowledge, he brings a skill set to make an immediate impact in his new role,” said John Herman, CEO, Ochsner – Northshore Region. “David’s experience will help further integrate and improve the Slidell Memorial and Ochsner partnership. Our partnership expands both organizations’ capabilities to provide technologically advanced and specialized healthcare for our patients in Slidell, east St. Tammany and beyond.”

In addition to being a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Grizzard also earned a Master of Accounting degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a bachelor’s degree in commerce and business administration from the University of Alabama Culverhouse College of Commerce in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

After beginning his career as an accountant in private firms, Grizzard moved into the healthcare finance arena as Controller, Assistant CFO and CFO at various hospitals in Mississippi and Alabama, ranging from 101-bed to 534-bed facilities.

Grizzard is married to Nita Grizzard and has two children, Katie and Abbie, as well as two grandchildren.