James Clements, seen in this Times 2014 file photo, has been named the permanent CEO of Cullman Regional Medical Center.

Cullman Regional Medical Center has named its new president and CEO, and for anyone who follows the operation of the Cullman area hospital, it should be a familiar face.

James Clements, who has served as interim president and CEO since August 2014, has been named the permanent president and CEO by the Cullman Regional Medical Center Board of Directors. Hospital officials confirmed the appointment Wednesday.

“The board has been extremely impressed by the financial and operational improvements made during his short tenure,” CRMC Board Chair Todd McLeroy said in a prepared statement. “We are confident that with his leadership, CRMC will continue to be a healthcare leader in our state.”

Clements was appointed to the seat on a temporary basis following the abrupt departure of former president and CEO Jim Weidner last year. The hospital’s vice president of patient care services Cheryl Bailey held down the post in an interim basis for a brief period before Clements’ initial appointment.

“The CRMC family and the Cullman community have many wonderful people who have been very welcoming during my interim period,” Clements said in a press release. “I am proud to be a part of such an excellent team which includes some of the highest quality medical staff I have had the privilege to work with in during my healthcare career. I look forward to making Cullman home.”

Clements is a seasoned healthcare executive with more than 25 years of healthcare operations experience. Prior to joining CRMC, he served as the CEO at South Fulton Medical Center, a Tenet Healthcare Corporation hospital in Atlanta, Georgia where he had worked since 2004.

He has previously served as co-founder and chief operating officer for a seven-hospital health care company in which he was responsible for the management of hospital executives and medical directors. He has also served in various capacities as a chief executive officer, chief financial officer and as vice president of business development and strategic planning at different points during his career.

Clements holds a Master of Business Administration from Georgia State University in Atlanta and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from Mercer University in Macon, Georgia.