LITTLE ROCK - CHI St. Vincent has named Christi Whatley as vice president/chief quality officer, a position that oversees clinical quality outcomes throughout CHI St. Vincent's hospitals and clinics and directs initiatives to ensure and improve excellent patient care.

Whatley was most recently director of business and service development for National Park Medical Center in Hot Springs. Before that, she spent nearly two decades at then-St. Joseph Mercy Health in Hot Springs, which became CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs in 2014. While at Mercy, she worked as vice president of quality and as vice president of operations.

Whatley is a certified public accountant. A Hot Springs native, she earned both her undergraduate degree and Master's in Business Administration from Henderson State University in Arkadelphia. She obtained a master black belt certification in GE Healthcare's Lean Six Sigma program.