Mary Washington Healthcare Hit by Sudden Departure of Chief Medical Officer
Abrupt Announcement Comes in the Middle of Radiology Services Turmoil
By Steve Watkins, ADVANCE EDITOR
In the wake of recent disclosures about conflicts between Mary Washington Healthcare and a local radiology group—and problems and uncertainty at MWHC with getting timely radiologic test results—the hospital corporation is now dealing with the sudden departure of Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President Christopher Lewis, who’ll be leaving his job in two week after only 15 months on the job.
MWHC CEO Christopher Newman made the announcement today in a brief “CEO Update” to members of the senior staff.
“Please be advised that Dr. Christopher Lewis, our Chief Medical Officer for MWHC, will be leaving our organization effective August 14, 2026,” Newman wrote in a terse, two-sentence statement. “Since joining us in May of 2025, Dr. Lewis has decided to follow a new path in the Leadership Development and Coaching field.”
The Advance was unable to contact Lewis this morning for comment.
Lewis has been involved in the fallout from MWHC’s rift with Radiology Associates of Fredericksburg and the termination of the working relationship between the two. That conflict led to the local radiology group filing a $2.65 million lawsuit last month against the hospital corporation—and MWHC last week announcing a contract with a new radiology group based in Norfolk.
Several weeks ago, after a deluge of calls from worried Mary Washington Healthcare patients, Lewis sent out a mass email assuring them that radiology services at MWHC would continue uninterrupted despite the conflict with Radiology Associates, with whom the hospital corporation had jointly operated several diagnostic clinics for a number of years.
“We know some of you may have questions regarding radiology services in our region,” Lewis wrote in his “Dear Friends” message. “We want you to hear directly from us: there is no disruption to patient care.”
The message included phone numbers—essentially a hotline—for patients and family members to contact with questions or concerns.
Prior to taking the chief medical officer position in Fredericksburg, where he bought and lives in the house formerly owned by previous MWHC CEO Michael McDermott, Lewis spent five years as senior vice president and chief clinical officer at Centra Health in Lynchburg, where he’d also worked for three years as vice president of medical affairs, and a dozen years as a practicing cardiologist.
Lewis earned his medical degree at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, followed by a residency at Beth Israel, a fellowship at the University of Virginia, and a Masters of Medical Management from Carnegie Mellon.
***
Steve Watkins is editor of The Advance.
Keep on this important story, Steve W. It’s sure to lead to a Pulitzer
Newman finds another fall guy for his continued disruption of medical care at MWHC. As the executive suite carnage continues, one wonders if the hospital board will ever man up and do their job.
If you dig a little more deeply, you’ll find that Chris Lewis was also involved in the termination of the radiology group in Lynchburg. The disruption of medical care at the Centra Lynchburg facilities continues many years later.