McLeod Health Announces New Board of Trustees Leadership

The McLeod Health Board of Trustees continues its commitment to providing outstanding leadership, stewardship and oversight of fiscal health. Effective March 2023, as the new Board terms began, Ronald M. Fowler of Loris assumed the position of Chairman of the McLeod Health Board of Trustees from Benjamin T. Zeigler of Florence who continues his service on the board.

“We are extremely appreciative of the dedication and very hard work of these volunteer board members who embrace the mission of McLeod Health in service to the community and providing the delivery of excellence in healthcare,” stated Donna Isgett, President and CEO of McLeod Health. “Their remarkable leadership continues to guide us as we face the many challenges that are affecting healthcare today.”

“I look forward to serving this organization and our committees as Chairman during the continuing progress we are making in healthcare,” said Fowler. “When I joined the McLeod Health Board of Trustees in 2012, my goal was to support the expanded footprint of services and global outlook of McLeod Health. Providing quality healthcare is not a concept that is created entirely in a boardroom. For McLeod Health that understanding is no different. Recognizing the diversity of the growing medical needs of local communities, the leadership of McLeod Health long viewed the move into Horry County as a platform for providing advanced quality healthcare to a vibrant and expanding region. We want to ensure McLeod provides the provision of quality healthcare close to home whether you live along the coast, the inland region of Northeastern South Carolina, or the bordering counties in North Carolina.”

Following a long history of leadership in education, Fowler said healthcare was a calling for him. In 2001, he was appointed to the Loris Community Hospital District Board of Commissioners. During his service with the board of commissioners, he served as Chairman and Vice Chairman. He was also on the board in 2011 when McLeod Health and Loris Healthcare System formalized their long standing and mutually beneficial partnership with a decision to affiliate. His service on the McLeod Health Board of Trustees includes Chairman of the Governance Committee and serving as a member of the following committees: Nominating; Finance; Audit and Compliance; Planning; Physician Development; and Workforce Development and Education.

Benjamin Zeigler completes his term as Chairman for the last three years. He served during a significant historic time in the organization with administrative leadership changes to a new President and Chief Executive Officer, the COVID-19 pandemic, and a challenging environment impacting the Certificate of Need process and the healthcare industry.

The McLeod Health Board is a self-perpetuating, 23-member governing board that includes eight physicians, including ten emeritus members.
Ronald M. Fowler has served as a member of the McLeod Health Board of Trustees representing Horry County since 2012. A native of Horry County, he is a graduate of Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina. He received a Master’s degree in Education from the University of South Carolina. Fowler has served Horry County Schools (HCS) for more than 50 years. He currently is a Learning Specialist for the HCS Office of Human Resources. He is also a Funeral Director with Hardwick Funeral Home. In his community, Fowler is a member of the Horry County RIDE IV Committee and a previous recipient of the Community Service Award from the Loris Chamber of Commerce. He has also served as a member of the Horry County Board of Adjustment and Appeals, past chairman of the City of Loris Election Commission, past co-chairman of the City of Loris Downtown Revitalization Committee and past president of the Loris Lions Club. Fowler and his wife Barbara have two children, Matthew R. M. Fowler, JD, and Elizabeth Fowler McClain, PhD. They also have four grandsons. The Fowlers are faith based and serve their spiritual community.

Benjamin T. Zeigler has served on the McLeod Health Board of Trustees representing Florence County since 2009. He assumed the role as Chairman of the Board in February 2020. He practices law with Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, P.A., where he is a shareholder. Zeigler graduated magna cum laude from the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, received a Master of Philosophy degree from Oxford University, and received his juris doctor degree from Harvard University Law School. A native of Florence, Zeigler is one of three generations of his family to be born at McLeod, and his grandfather practiced at McLeod for three decades. A dedicated volunteer in the community, Zeigler serves as Chairman of the Belle W. Baruch Foundation, and as President of the Florence County Historical Society. He was formerly Chairman of the Boards of the South Carolina Junior Golf Association, the Pee Dee Land Trust, the Francis Marion Trail Commission, and the Wright Foundation for Southern Art. Additionally, he has served on the boards of the Initiant Health Care Collaborative, Florence County Progress, the South Carolina Golf Association, the South Carolina Tourism Alliance, and the Florence County Museum. He and his wife Belle have one son, Gene. They are members of St. John’s Anglican Church.

About McLeod Health

Founded in 1906, McLeod Health is a locally owned and managed, not for profit organization supported by the strength of more than 900 members on its medical staff and more than 2,900 licensed nurses (Registered Nurses; Advanced Practice Nurses – including Certified Nurse Anesthetists, Nurse Practitioners and Certified Nurse Midwives; as well as Licensed Practical Nurses). McLeod Health is also composed of approximately 15,000 team members and more than 90 physician practices throughout its 18-county service area. With seven hospitals, McLeod Health operates three Health and Fitness Centers, a Sports Medicine and Outpatient Rehabilitation Center, Hospice and Home Health Services. The system currently has 988 licensed beds, including Hospice and Behavioral Health. The hospitals within McLeod Health include: McLeod Regional Medical Center, McLeod Health Dillon, McLeod Health Loris, McLeod Health Seacoast, McLeod Health Cheraw, McLeod Health Clarendon and McLeod Behavioral Health. On the coast, the McLeod Health Carolina Forest complex has an Emergency Department and the first two of seven medical park office buildings as an extension of McLeod Loris Seacoast Hospital. Projected to open in spring 2023, Building 3 on the McLeod Health Carolina Forest Campus will include the following services and medical specialties: orthopedics, rehabilitation, obstetrics and gynecology, pulmonary and critical care, rheumatology, general surgery and digestive health.