“I’m 72, I’ve got to quit sooner or later,” Buchanan said.
Buchanan became a member of the Mercy Health staff in 1981, inspired by his experience with hospitalization following a car crash, and practiced internal medicine until 2020. He took over the role of CCO a couple of months before the start of the coronavirus pandemic, he said.
The pandemic presented many obstacles for the area’s hospital: organizing vaccinations to protect workers on the health care frontline, combatting the healthcare worker shortage as many fell ill or left the field, and coordinating COVID-19 testing and treatment, Buchanan said, were challenges.
The area’s hospital also worked to treat an influx of patients during COVID-19 peaks, with up to 104 patients hospitalized at one time.
The retiring physician is a former officer and director of the Western Ohio Health Care Corporation, a former trustee of the Dayton Heart Hospital and a former trustee of the Ohio Society of Internal Medicine.
Buchanan said he looks forward to having time to pursue his hobbies: fishing, golfing and sailing, to name a few.
“My main plan is to have no plans,” he said.
Buchanan’s successor, Morman, will take over the role of chief clinical officer starting Monday. He’s been serving in the role of co-chief clinical officer at the Springfield Regional Medical Center since 2019, making way for a smooth transition, the hospital network said.
“Although Dr. Buchanan will be missed, he has done an incredible job of helping set the future direction of healthcare delivery in the greater Springfield market, and we are very blessed to have the strength of talent and character in his successor,” Adam Groshans, president of Mercy Health - Springfield, said.
Morman has practiced family medicine at Mercy Health – Family Physicians of Springfield since 1997 and served as a physician consultant in quality from 2017 through 2019, according to Mercy Health.
“While I’m saddened to leave behind the many patients and friends made at my clinical practice over the years, I am excited and blessed to be joining my peers in the ministry and at my local hospital as we face the challenge of growing health care in our community,” said Dr. Morman. “We are improving the size, scope, and quality of care we can provide to those we serve, making this a dream career move – from something I have loved to something that is so purposeful.”
Marion grew up in Marion and holds a bachelor’s from the University of Dayton as well as a medical degree from the University of Cincinnati, College of Medicine.
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