Cheryl Wathen has shared plans to retire as senior vice president and CFO of Evansville, Ind.-based Deaconess Health System after more than 36 years with the system and 16 years as CFO. Alice Rigdon will succeed Ms. Wathen, effective in fall 2026.
Ms. Wathen will remain with the system to help with the leadership transition through the end of September, according to a June 29 news release shared with Becker’s.
Ms. Rigdon has served as CFO of Mayo Clinic in Florida since 2020. She also served as vice president of finance at SCL Health’s Saint Joseph Hospital in Denver.
Prior to her role as CFO, Ms. Wathen held roles at Deaconess including manager of internal audit, manager of finance, CFO of The Women’s Hospital and system controller.
“What I am most proud of is the people I have hired and mentored who have excelled in their roles and will be the leaders that take Deaconess into the future,” Ms. Wathen said in the release. “I would not have been successful without the support of my fellow leaders, our Board of Directors and my fellow employees. I am grateful to have worked in such a wonderful organization.”
Deaconess Health System comprises 22 hospitals, a fully integrated multispecialty group, the Linda E. White Hospice House and a freestanding cancer center. It also features multiple urgent care facilities and near-site clinics, the release said.
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