April 11, 2001 – St. Thomas native Bernard A. Wheatley, vice president for operations at Athens Regional Medical Center in Athens, Ga., can now add the letters "FACHE" after his name in signing professional communications.
That's because he has advanced to Fellow status in the American College of Healthcare Executives, an international professional society representing nearly 30,000 health care executives. The letters signify that he is board certified in health care management as a Fellow of ACHE.
The designation was announced in Chicago on March 25 at ACHE's annual Congress on Healthcare Management. Fellow status, the organization's highest level of professional achievement, is held by about 3,000 health care executives in the nation.
Founded in 1933, ACHE offers programs in credentialing, education and career development with the goal of improving the health status of society by advancing health care leadership and management excellence. To obtain Fellow status, affiliates must demonstrate their education, experience and leadership in health care over several years and complete a significant project on a subject related to health care management.
A 1966 graduate of Charlotte Amalie High School, Wheatley earned a bachelor of science from St. Joseph's College in Brooklyn, N.Y., and his MBA from the New York Institute of Technology in Long Island, N.Y. He also holds health care executive certificates from The Ohio State University and Harvard University.
