ATCHISON

MARQUETTE — UP Health System-Marquette CEO Gar Atchison will step down from his role effective late November.

UPHS announced Thursday that Atchison accepted a new position in his hometown of Petoskey where he will be closer to family.

“The decision to leave my role at UPHS was a very difficult one for my family and me, but we know it is the right choice for us now,” Atchison said in a UPHS media release. “I am honored to have been part of UPHS and called the Upper Peninsula home for the last four years. Across this region, UPHS has a wonderful team of dedicated staff, providers and volunteers with a genuine commitment to advancing the health of their communities. I am proud to have been able to call myself one of them and confident that they will continue to flourish and thrive long after my departure.”

Atchison has served as CEO of UPHS-Marquette and market president of UPHS since 2019. Prior to his roles with UPHS, Atchison served in several leadership positions at Frye Medical Center, another Duke LifePoint facility in Hickory, North Carolina. He also served as CEO of Hickory Orthopedic Center, a multilocation orthopedic practice in Hickory.

Before that, Atchison was the practice administrator for Bay Street Orthopedics in Petoskey and financial operations manager for Northern Michigan Hospital, now McLaren Northern Michigan, also in Petoskey.

“Gar’s departure is a bittersweet one,” chair of the UPHS Board of Trustees Jerry Napier said in the media release. “We are pleased to see him make the right decision for his family, but disappointed to lose a great leader. I have always been impressed with his genuine concern for the health and welfare of the Upper Peninsula community. He did an excellent job in guiding us through the difficult times with the COVID-19 pandemic and other health care issues we faced in our region. He will be missed.”

UPHS-Marquette’s current chief operating officer Tonya Darner has been appointed as CEO in the interim.

“Our team is dedicated to supporting UPHS through this transition,” LifePoint Health Eastern Division President Elmer Polite said in the media release. “UPHS hospitals have a lot of great initiatives underway, and we are committed to ensuring that their teams have the support and resources they need to continue their positive momentum and advance their efforts to make their communities healthier.”