Executive Leadership Team

Executive Leadership Team

At Durham Regional Hospital, we’ve been serving the healthcare needs of Durham, Orange and surrounding communities for over 30 years. We take pride in being part of Duke University Health System and in carrying on the tradition of caring of our predecessor hospitals – Lincoln and Watts.

Our exceptional team of healthcare professionals is committed to providing the highest level of service to our patients, our visitors and our community. If you or someone you love needs hospital care, we hope you will choose Durham Regional Hospital. And if there’s anything else we can do to enhance the service we provide, we hope you will let us know. Please visit the Feedback page to share your suggestions, compliments or concerns. Your comments will help us as we strive to be among the very best community hospitals.

To your health.

Team Profiles

Kerry Watson

Kerry Watson

Chief Executive Officer

Kerry Watson joined Durham Regional Hospital as Chief Executive Officer in March 2008. Watson previously held the position of senior associate operating officer at Duke University Hospital.

Watson has held significant leadership positions in many clinical service areas within the Duke University Health System over the past 10 years. Prior to Watson’s career at Duke, he served in various leadership positions for six years at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, MD, and prior to that spent ten years in management positions in the Howard University Hospital Department of Radiology in Washington, DC. He also served a term as Administrative Officer for the Department of Radiology at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Watson is a graduate of George Washington University with a bachelor’s degree in Radiology Administration and Health Sciences. He completed graduate degree work at the University of Maryland and earned a Master’s degree in Organizational Management from the University of Phoenix.

Watson serves on the Triangle Red Cross Board, and is a member of the National Association of Health Services Executives and the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Greg Damron

Greg Damron

Chief Financial Officer

Greg Damron was appointed Chief Financial Officer for Durham Regional in June 2004 after serving as Director of Finance for 18 months. Prior to joining the Durham Regional team, Damron served as a financial management analyst in Corporate Finance for the Health System. Previously he worked on the audit staff for Ernst & Young, LLP in Phoenix and Charlotte. He earned his bachelor’s degree in physics from UNC Chapel Hill and his master’s of accounting from Kenan-Flagler School of Business at UNC. He is a member of the Healthcare Financial Management Association.

Katie Galbraith

Katie Galbraith, MBA

Chief Marketing & Business Development Officer

Katie Galbraith was appointed Chief Marketing & Business Development Officer in June 2007. Galbraith formerly held the position of Divisional Marketing and Communications Officer for Durham Regional Hospital, where she led the marketing, public relations and communications efforts for the hospital. Prior to joining Durham Regional in 2001, Galbraith worked for more than four years as Public Relations Manager for Duke Childrens Hospital and Health Center. She has also worked in media relations for the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation in Williamsburg, Va.; as a reporter and freelance writer for The Cape Cod Times, The Virginian-Pilot and Navy Times; and as a studio guide for Universal Studios Florida. Galbraith graduated in 1991 with a B.S. degree in journalism from Northwestern University and in May 2007 with a MBA degree from Elon University. Galbraith is a member of the Society for Healthcare Strategy & Market Development, the American Marketing Association and the American College of Healthcare Executives.
Debra Hernandez

Debra Hernandez, MHA, RN, FACHE

Chief Nursing Officer and Patient Care Services Officer

Debra Hernandez came to Durham Regional in April 2005 from Wayne Memorial Hospital in Goldsboro, where she served as Vice President of Patient Services and Chief Nursing Officer. Prior to that she served as Director of Operations and Chief Nursing Officer for Western Wake Medical Center in Raleigh. She started her career as a staff nurse at Duke Hospital and then worked at Durham Regional and Raleigh Community Hospital before joining WakeMed.

Hernandez is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina and a master’s in healthcare administration from Pfeiffer University. She is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, member of the North Carolina Nurses Association, member of the 2003 Nursing Workforce Task Force, member of the Wayne Community College Nurse Advisory Board, member of the American Organization of Nurse Executives, Board member of the North Carolina Organization of Nurse Executives, chair of the North Carolina Organization of Nurse Executives Practice Committee, and member of the North Carolina Board of Nursing Continued Competency Taskforce.

Larry Moss

Larry Moss, MD

Chief Medical Officer

Larry Moss, MD, joined Durham Regional Hospital as Chief Medical Officer in July 2007. Moss previously held the position of Director for the Durham Regional Hospital Endocrinology and Diabetes Service.

Moss provides senior executive leadership for the hospital in facilitating medical staff interactions with Hospital Administration, the Durham County Hospital Corporation (DCHC) governing board and the Duke University Health System. Moss received a bachelor of arts in biochemistry from Rice University in Houston, Texas and his Medical Degree from Baylor College of Medicine. He completed a Medicine Residency at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachussetts, a Fellowship in Endocrinology at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and a Research Fellowship at the Hormone Research Institute and Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, California.

Richard Walsh

Richard Walsh, PhD

Chief Human Resources Officer

Richard Walsh joined Durham Regional Hospital as Chief Human Resources Officer in April 2005. Most recently he served as Director of Organizational Effectiveness & People Development with University Hospitals Health System in Cleveland, an integrated health system with 150 locations and more than 20,000 employees and physicians. He previously was Director for Human Resources with Johnson & Johnson and Manager of Organization Development with Honeywell International.

With more than 30 years of experience in human resources management, he has built a reputation as a strong, thoughtful leader. He brings to Durham Regional expertise in change leadership, management development, team building, enhancing employee satisfaction and building successful diversity programs. Walsh holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from University of Iowa, and both a master’s and doctorate degree in psychology from Marquette University. He has served as an Adjunct Professor in the MBA program at John Carroll University and as a lecturer at New York University and the American Institute of Banking. He is Diplomate in the Society of Human Resources Management and a member of the Society of Industrial/Organizational Psychologists and the Human Resources Planning Society.

Learn more about our Executive Leadership Team by selecting from the links below:

Durham Regional Hospital

Kerry Watson»
Chief Executive Officer
Greg Damron »
Chief Financial Officer
Katie Galbraith »
Chief Marketing & Business Development Officer
Debra Taylor Hernandnez »
Chief Nursing & Patient Care Services Officer
Larry Moss, MD »
Chief Medical Officer
Richard Walsh »
Chief Human Resources Officer

Duke University Health System

Links below lead to dukemedicine.org
Victor J. Dzau, MD »
Chancellor for Health Affairs, Duke University; President and CEO, Duke University Health System
William J. Fulkerson Jr., MD, MBA »
CEO, Duke University Hospital; Vice President for Acute Care Division, Duke University Health System
Kenneth C. Morris »
Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Treasurer, Duke University Health System
Molly O'Neill »
Vice Chancellor for Integrated Planning; Vice President for Business Development and Chief Strategic Planning Officer, Duke University Health System
Asif Ahmad »
Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Duke University Health System and Duke University Medical Center
Michael Cuffe, MD »
Vice President for Medical Affairs, Duke University Health System
Paul Newman »
Vice President for Ambulatory Care Division, Duke University Health System