By Bill Poteat for THE PAPER
Jon Mercer, senior vice president and chief operating officer for UNC Health Blue Ridge, is leaving that position to become president of Novant Health Clemmons Medical Center effective July 1.
Mercer has served in his current role at UNC Health Blue Ridge for the past nine years but has been with the organization for nearly 27 years.
He began employment in 1998 as the cardio pulmonary rehabilitation program coordinator at what was then called Valdese General Hospital. He then entered the administrative track with the organization.
His positions before becoming senior vice president included director, assistant vice president, and vice president of the Blue Ridge HealthCare Medical Group, vice president of professional and support services, and vice president of operations.
During his years with Blue Ridge, Mercer has been very active in the community, serving as a board member for the YMCA of Catawba County, a trustee at Western Piedmont Community College, a member and president of the Valdese Rotary Club, and a deacon and Sunday School teacher at Valdese First Baptist Church.
Mercer holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from Western Carolina University, a master of science degree in exercise physiology from Appalachian State University, and a master’s degree in business administration and health administration from Pfeiffer University.
Clemmons, with a population of about 22,000, is located in Forsyth County, just to the west of Winston-Salem, and is considered a suburb of the larger city.
Serving western Forsyth, Davie and Yadkin counties, and the surrounding areas, Novant Health Clemmons Medical Center is a full-service hospital with a special focus on emergency and surgical care — including joint replacement, urological, colorectal and bariatric surgery.
An expanded version of this story, with remarks from Mercer about his time in Burke County and his love for its people, will be in the Saturday, May 31, edition of The Paper.