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: Brenda Baker
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 – Brenda
Baker – Vincent Johnson – Medicare Beneficiary: John Hutson