Meet the Leadership


Ferris E. George, MD

Dr. George was born in Washington DC. He attended Georgia Southern University where he majored in Chemistry; graduating Magna Cum Laude. He received his medical degree from Medical College of Georgia, School of Medicine in 1986. After graduating from Medical School he completed his residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Florida Health Science Center in 1989. After completing a Fellowship in Cardiology in 1992, he opened his private practice in St. Augustine where he lives with his wife of 20 years and their 3 daughters.

Dr. George is an invasive cardiologist who is board certified in Cardiovascular Disease and licensed to practice in the state of Florida. He is a Fellow of American College of Cardiology, The American Medical Association and served as a delegate to the Florida Association. He is on the medical staff at Flagler Hospital, where he has served as President of the Medical Staff and Chief of Staff. He also serves as a Principal Investigator for numerous cardiovascular research projects focusing on the advancements in the care of patients and cardiovascular technology.

Dr. George limits his practice to diagnosing and treatment of cardiovascular disease.

Carlton DeVooght, JD, FACHE

Carlton DeVooght is President and CEO of Flagler Health+, a St. Johns County, FL-based health enterprise. Before assuming that position, Mr. DeVooght served as the organization’s Senior Executive Vice President, Chief Administration Officer & General Counsel.

Mr. DeVooght joined Flagler Health+ four years ago after serving as Senior Vice President of Operations for Coastal Community Health. In that role, he oversaw operations of the regional affiliation, interactions with governmental agencies and coordinated all legal actions. Prior to joining Coastal, Mr. DeVooght served as Vice President & General Counsel for Southeast Georgia Health System. In this role he led the organization’s legal, real estate, medical staff services, compliance, risk management and government relations matters, as well as the cancer centers for the health system.

He has a B.A. from the University of Georgia and earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of Georgia School of Law. Mr. DeVooght also has an MBA with a certification in healthcare management from Brenau University where he received the Leadership Award.


John Franks, MHA

John Franks serves as Executive Vice President, Ambulatory Enterprise. In this role, Mr. Franks is responsible for planning and executing strategic initiatives to achieve programmatic growth, network strength, standardization, efficiency and a five-star consumer experience across all aspects of the Flagler Health+ ambulatory enterprise. This includes oversight of the organization’s health villages, physician enterprise and clinically integrated network.

Mr. Franks previously served as Vice President of Clinical Integration for Flagler Health+ where he successfully designed and deployed strategic physician and payor partnerships, led the formation of Flagler Health+ Pediatrics & Primary Care, achieved financial targets through value-based contracting efforts and played a pivotal role in the creation of the Flagler Advantage Medicare product in partnership with Florida Healthcare Plans. Mr. Franks also served as Executive Director of First Coast Health Alliance.

Prior to joining the Flagler team in 2012, he served as Executive Vice President – Product Development & Innovation Officer for US Preventive Medicine. Mr. Franks has been working in progressively responsible healthcare leadership roles for more than 25 years, including Senior Director of the Neuroscience Institute at UF Health Jacksonville, Vice President of Finance and Development at Healthscreen America and Director of Medical Finance and Strategic Planning at Amerigroup Corporation. Mr. Franks holds a Master of Health Administration from the University of North Florida and a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Florida State University.


Treasurer: Tom Bailey

Director of Quality Assurance & Quality Improvement: Todd Batenhorst, MD

Compliance Officer: Kelly Jenkins

Executive Director: Erika Cunningham-Regis


Board of Directors

Physician Block

Ferris George, MD – Rafael Aponte-Lopez, MD – Ashfaq Kudia, MD – Miguel Mas, MD – Suhas Neerukonda, MD – Derek Muehrcke, MD – Dinesh Pubbi, MD

Hospital Block

Carlton DeVooght – David Rice, MD – John Franks – Tom Bailey – Dr. Todd Batenhorst – Medicare Beneficiary: John Hutson

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