Healthcare
Rick Metzger Named CEO of Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola
A registered nurse who began as an OR orderly returns to Ascension to lead the region’s only Level I trauma center.
Ascension Sacred Heart has a new leader. Rick Metzger, most recently CEO of USA Health Providence Hospital in Mobile, was named president and chief executive officer of Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola, effective Oct. 12. The hospital announced the move Sept. 28.
Metzger succeeds Will Condon, who was recently appointed CEO of Ascension Sacred Heart Health System.
The Résumé
- Providence CEO: Led the 349-bed hospital and Level III trauma center in Mobile since June 2024, first as interim CEO and then as permanent CEO beginning in October 2024.
- Financial results: Led a improvement plan that produced more than $10 million in operational savings.
- Safety grade: Providence’s Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade rose from a C to a B in spring 2026.
- Technology: Guided the hospital’s transition to a new electronic medical record system.
- Ascension roots: Served nearly seven years as vice president of operations and chief operating officer at Ascension Providence, from 2016 to 2023.
“My primary focus will be building upon the strong foundation Will Condon established, expanding access to care, and earning the trust of our dedicated physicians, associates, and community.”
From the bedside to the boardroom. Metzger started in healthcare at 19 as an OR orderly, then worked in surgical technology, nursing, hospital operations and executive leadership. The Huntsville, Ala., native holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Alabama in Huntsville and a Master of Management in Health Care from Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management. In 2022, he completed Ascension’s Executive Ministry Leadership Formation program.
Why it matters locally. Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola is home to the region’s only Level I Trauma Center, along with Studer Family Children’s Hospital and comprehensive outpatient facilities. The wider system operates five hospitals and more than 100 other sites of care, employs more than 6,440 associates, and reported more than $160 million in community benefit in fiscal year 2025.