NATCHEZ — The new chief executive officer of Natchez Community Hospital said he is excited to make Natchez his family’s new home and is hoping to help keep Miss-Lou residents at home for their health care needs.

Eric Robinson, who served as the hospital’s interim CEO after former CEO Donny Rentfro resigned in March, said he is first working to build relationships with Natchez Community physicians and staff.

Good hospital-physician relationships and a good workplace environment for employees, Robinson said, is the foundation for quality patient care.

“I want to serve people where they live,” Robinson said. “We have a lot of patients in Natchez and surrounding areas that leave Natchez for health care. I would like to find a way to convince them to stay here so they don’t have to go out of town for care.”

Robinson said he applied for the CEO position at Natchez Community two years ago but then received a job as chief operating officer of Biloxi Regional Medical Center.

“This is an area my wife and I have been looking at for quite some time,” Robinson said. “When the opportunity came along to move up in the company and get to Natchez, I took it. The city is very attractive, especially the downtown area, and the history of the town really gets your attention.”

Robinson said he intends to use the charm of Natchez to actively recruit physicians to the area to give local residents the best opportunities for quality health care.

Robinson received his undergraduate degree in biology from the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg.

He went on to receive a master of business administration degree and a master of health administration degree from the University of Alabama, in Birmingham.

Robinson graduated from Northeast Jones High School in Laurel, where his parents, Trish and Mike Morgan, still live.

Robinson said he and his wife, Jenny, and their sons Nolan, 4, William, 2, and Miles, who will turn 1 in a few weeks, will be moving into their new home Friday.

“We’re excited to be here, and I look forward to being a part of the community, not just a CEO of a hospital, but an active part of the community,” Robinson said.