What are the red flags for Vicki Lewis, FACHE?

Vicki Lewis, FACHE

Trustee, term 2027-2029

President & CEO | Coffee Regional Medical Center

Last verified November 4, 2026

6 Red Flags

Affiliations

•President and CEO of Coffee Regional Medical Center (CRMC), a 98-bed nonprofit acute care hospital in Douglas, Ga., since 2014.
•Chair of the Georgia Hospital Association Board of Trustees, installed July 9, 2026, after serving as chair-elect from 2025; GHA board member since 2019.
•Former CEO and executive roles at Aurora Health Care (Milwaukee) and OhioHealth (Columbus).
•BSN from Ohio University and MS from The Ohio State University; Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.
•2024 AHA Partnership for Action Grassroots Champion, one of 50 honorees nationally.

Financial / Compensation

•Lewis received $742,392 in reportable compensation plus $19,533 in other compensation on CRMC's FY2024 Form 990, up 18.5% from $626,686 in FY2023.
•Her reported pay has risen 90% since FY2018 ($391,313), while CRMC revenue grew about 50% over the same period ($132.9 million to $199.9 million).
•CRMC reported FY2024 revenue of $199.9 million, expenses of $193.2 million and net income of $6.8 million (about a 3.4% margin), with net assets of $49.4 million.
•CRMC's FY2023 Form 990 showed revenue of $187.3 million and net income of $2.9 million.
•CRMC's FY2021 federal single audit, filed with the Federal Audit Clearinghouse, reported a material weakness in internal controls.
•Contributions to CRMC peaked at $14.1 million (7.4% of revenue) in FY2021; CRMC actively solicits gifts through Georgia's HEART rural hospital tax credit, which refunds donors 100% of their gift as a state income tax credit, up to a $100 million statewide cap per year.

Lobbying and Political

•No federal Lobbying Disclosure Act filings were found for Coffee Regional Medical Center in 2024, 2025 or 2026.
•As Georgia Hospital Association chair, Lewis leads a group that has retained Cornerstone Government Affairs for federal lobbying since at least 2025, reporting $40,000 per quarter (about $120,000 for Q2-Q4 2025 and $120,000 for Q1-Q3 2026).
•The AHA honored Lewis in 2024 as a Grassroots Champion for educating elected officials on hospital priorities; the award materials did not name specific legislators or bills.
•CRMC promotes Georgia HEART, a state program that converts private donations into dollar-for-dollar tax credits for rural hospitals, effectively redirecting state tax revenue to hospitals like hers.

Revolving Door

•Served on AHA Regional Policy Board 4 (AHA dates it 2022-2025; CRMC dates it 2021-2024) and will chair the AHA Region 4 Policy Board.
•Chairs the Georgia Hospital Association board from July 2026, the state's main hospital lobby.
•Joins the AHA Board of Trustees for a three-year term beginning Jan. 1, 2027, as the board's rural independent hospital voice.

Home System Record

•CRMC has served Coffee County and surrounding counties since 1953 and operates as an independent nonprofit hospital.
•Under Lewis, CRMC launched an internal medicine residency program and expanded outpatient services across the region.
•CRMC has earned national accreditations in cancer care, interventional cardiology and stroke readiness, and promotes bariatric, orthopedic and spine service lines.
•CRMC returned to profitability after FY2017 ($6.5 million loss) and FY2018 ($2.9 million loss) and has posted surpluses every year from FY2019 through FY2024, ranging from $1.1 million (FY2020) to $10.9 million (FY2021).
•CRMC has been enrolled in the 340B program as a disproportionate share hospital (ID DSH110089) since April 1, 2007, with three registered child sites (Coffee Regional First Care, an outpatient infusion center and a wound care clinic).
•HRSA's 340B database lists seven active contract pharmacy arrangements for CRMC, including a Walmart pharmacy and independent pharmacies in Douglas and Nicholls; a second Walmart arrangement in Hazlehurst and an earlier Nicholls contract were terminated in 2018.
•No Lown fair-share ranking or price transparency compliance data for CRMC was found.

Litigation and Scrutiny

•No lawsuits, settlements, False Claims Act actions or state AG actions involving Coffee Regional Medical Center in 2025 or 2026 were found in available sources; local coverage through September 2026 was limited to service-line, residency and scholarship announcements.

Red Flags

Lewis's pay rose 90% from FY2018 to FY2024, outpacing the hospital's 50% revenue growth, at a 98-bed rural hospital that leans on taxpayer-backed donations.

CRMC solicits donations through Georgia HEART, a 100% state tax credit program that is a direct subsidy routed through private donors.

CRMC has drawn 340B program discounts since 2007 and routes them through seven active contract pharmacies, including Walmart, giving Lewis a direct stake in the 340B fight the AHA leads.

CRMC's FY2021 federal single audit reported a material weakness in internal controls.

Lewis now chairs the Georgia Hospital Association, which pays an outside federal lobbying firm $40,000 a quarter, and will sit on the AHA board, stacking state and national trade-group roles.

She was named an AHA Grassroots Champion for lobbying elected officials, a sign she is valued for advocacy as much as operations.

Pattern Summary

Lewis is the AHA board's rural community-hospital face, a nurse-trained executive who has run a 98-bed Georgia hospital since 2014 while climbing the Georgia Hospital Association and AHA advocacy ladder. Her pay has risen far faster than her hospital's revenue, and CRMC relies in part on Georgia's dollar-for-dollar HEART tax credit to raise money. Her seat gives the AHA a sympathetic rural story to tell in Washington, even as the trade group's agenda is driven by large systems.

Vicki Lewis, FACHE

Red Flags

Sources and Citations