Matt Pesyna

Modern Healthcare recently announced its list of the 50 Most Influential Physician Executives and Leaders, and hospital medicine was well represented among the honorees. The honored physicians were selected by a panel of experts and peers for their leadership and impact on the profession.

Topping the list was Scott Gottlieb, MD, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. Dr. Gottlieb was confirmed to his position in May 2017 and, in his first year, has focused on price transparency and the approval of generic medications.

Dr. Gottlieb was deputy commissioner of the FDA from 2005-2007, and he has worked as an advisor and analyst for GlaxoSmithKline, the American Enterprise Institute, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, and Avilene Health.

Dr. Gottlieb earned his medical degree from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, and completed his residency at Mount Sinai Hospital. He has worked as a hospitalist at New York University’s Tisch Hospital, the Hospital for Joint Diseases, and Stamford (Conn.) Hospital.
 

Patrick Conway, MD, was listed at number 23 on Modern Healthcare’s 50 Most Influential Physician Executives and Leaders. Formerly the deputy administrator for innovation and quality at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Dr. Conway recently became president and chief executive officer of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina.

Dr. Conway is known for his ability to develop and promote alternative payment models. He was elected to the National Academy of Medicine’s Institute of Medicine in 2014 and was selected as a Master of Hospital Medicine by the Society of Hospital Medicine.
 

Lynn Massingale, MD, the cofounder and chairman of TeamHealth, was named one of the 50 Most Influential Physician Executives and Leaders for a third year running, coming in at number 27 on the list. Dr. Massingale, who also recently was named to the Tennessee Healthcare Hall of Fame, founded TeamHealth in 1979 and was its chief executive officer for 30 years before assuming the role of chairman in 2008.

TeamHealth provides outsourced emergency medicine, hospitalist, critical care, anesthesiology, and acute care surgery services, among other specialties, at more than 3,200 facilities and physician groups across the United States.
 

Veeravat Taecharvongphairoj, MD, a veteran internist and hospitalist at Hemet Valley Medical Center in Hemet, Calif., has been honored by the International Association of Healthcare Professionals in its Leading Physicians of the World publication.

Dr. Taecharvongphairoj completed his residency at the University of Hawaii, Honolulu, before accepting a fellowship in hospital and palliative care at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles. He is a member of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.
 

Sean Bain, MD, has been selected to the Glen Falls (N.Y.) Hospital Foundation Board of Trustees for 2018. Dr. Bain works as a hospitalist/internist at Glen Falls Hospital, where he is the president of medical staff. He manages the credentialing, continuing education, and policies and practices for the staff’s providers.

Dr. Bain received his medical degree at Albany (N.Y.) Medical College and served his residency at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, Winston-Salem, N.C.
 

George Harrison, MD, has been tabbed the new chief medical officer at Fairview Park Hospital in Dublin, Ga. Dr. Harrison will be charged with managing clinical quality and patient safety, staff relations, and clinical integration strategies at the hospital.

Prior to his appointment, Dr. Harrison was the codirector of the hospitalist program at Fairview Park. The Georgia native previously worked in management roles at urgent care centers, family practice centers, and hospitalist programs in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. He is a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians, the Society of Hospital Medicine, and the American Academy of Physician Leaders.

Dr. Harrison taught high school geometry and chemistry before earning his medical degree at the Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta. He did his residency at Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C.
 

BUSINESS MOVES

U.S. Acute Care Solutions (Canton, Ohio), a physician-owned, national provider of emergency medicine and hospitalist services, has extended its relationship with Central Health of Colorado and western Kansas. USACS has acquired the physicians of Front Range Emergency Specialists (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Southwest Emergency Physicians (Durango, Colo.), and Southern Colorado Emergency Specialists (Pueblo, Colo.).

USACS’s acquisition of these three physician groups adds care to more than 175,000 patients each year in central and southwest Colorado. USACS cares for more than 6 million patients per year at more than 200 locations across the United States.
 

VEP Healthcare (Concord, Calif.), an emergency medicine and hospitalist staffing company, has signed on to manage hospitalist and ED services at City Hospital at White Rock in Dallas. Its goals are to increase patient satisfaction, decrease wait times in seeing providers, raise recommendation rates, and lower malpractice claims.

White Rock is a 218-bed, community hospital providing care to East Texas since 1959.

Modern Healthcare recently announced its list of the 50 Most Influential Physician Executives and Leaders, and hospital medicine was well represented among the honorees. The honored physicians were selected by a panel of experts and peers for their leadership and impact on the profession.

Topping the list was Scott Gottlieb, MD, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. Dr. Gottlieb was confirmed to his position in May 2017 and, in his first year, has focused on price transparency and the approval of generic medications.

Dr. Gottlieb was deputy commissioner of the FDA from 2005-2007, and he has worked as an advisor and analyst for GlaxoSmithKline, the American Enterprise Institute, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, and Avilene Health.

Dr. Gottlieb earned his medical degree from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, and completed his residency at Mount Sinai Hospital. He has worked as a hospitalist at New York University’s Tisch Hospital, the Hospital for Joint Diseases, and Stamford (Conn.) Hospital.
 

Patrick Conway, MD, was listed at number 23 on Modern Healthcare’s 50 Most Influential Physician Executives and Leaders. Formerly the deputy administrator for innovation and quality at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Dr. Conway recently became president and chief executive officer of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina.

Dr. Conway is known for his ability to develop and promote alternative payment models. He was elected to the National Academy of Medicine’s Institute of Medicine in 2014 and was selected as a Master of Hospital Medicine by the Society of Hospital Medicine.
 

Lynn Massingale, MD, the cofounder and chairman of TeamHealth, was named one of the 50 Most Influential Physician Executives and Leaders for a third year running, coming in at number 27 on the list. Dr. Massingale, who also recently was named to the Tennessee Healthcare Hall of Fame, founded TeamHealth in 1979 and was its chief executive officer for 30 years before assuming the role of chairman in 2008.

TeamHealth provides outsourced emergency medicine, hospitalist, critical care, anesthesiology, and acute care surgery services, among other specialties, at more than 3,200 facilities and physician groups across the United States.
 

Veeravat Taecharvongphairoj, MD, a veteran internist and hospitalist at Hemet Valley Medical Center in Hemet, Calif., has been honored by the International Association of Healthcare Professionals in its Leading Physicians of the World publication.

Dr. Taecharvongphairoj completed his residency at the University of Hawaii, Honolulu, before accepting a fellowship in hospital and palliative care at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles. He is a member of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.
 

Sean Bain, MD, has been selected to the Glen Falls (N.Y.) Hospital Foundation Board of Trustees for 2018. Dr. Bain works as a hospitalist/internist at Glen Falls Hospital, where he is the president of medical staff. He manages the credentialing, continuing education, and policies and practices for the staff’s providers.

Dr. Bain received his medical degree at Albany (N.Y.) Medical College and served his residency at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, Winston-Salem, N.C.
 

George Harrison, MD, has been tabbed the new chief medical officer at Fairview Park Hospital in Dublin, Ga. Dr. Harrison will be charged with managing clinical quality and patient safety, staff relations, and clinical integration strategies at the hospital.

Prior to his appointment, Dr. Harrison was the codirector of the hospitalist program at Fairview Park. The Georgia native previously worked in management roles at urgent care centers, family practice centers, and hospitalist programs in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. He is a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians, the Society of Hospital Medicine, and the American Academy of Physician Leaders.

Dr. Harrison taught high school geometry and chemistry before earning his medical degree at the Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta. He did his residency at Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C.
 

BUSINESS MOVES

U.S. Acute Care Solutions (Canton, Ohio), a physician-owned, national provider of emergency medicine and hospitalist services, has extended its relationship with Central Health of Colorado and western Kansas. USACS has acquired the physicians of Front Range Emergency Specialists (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Southwest Emergency Physicians (Durango, Colo.), and Southern Colorado Emergency Specialists (Pueblo, Colo.).

USACS’s acquisition of these three physician groups adds care to more than 175,000 patients each year in central and southwest Colorado. USACS cares for more than 6 million patients per year at more than 200 locations across the United States.
 

VEP Healthcare (Concord, Calif.), an emergency medicine and hospitalist staffing company, has signed on to manage hospitalist and ED services at City Hospital at White Rock in Dallas. Its goals are to increase patient satisfaction, decrease wait times in seeing providers, raise recommendation rates, and lower malpractice claims.

White Rock is a 218-bed, community hospital providing care to East Texas since 1959.

Modern Healthcare recently announced its list of the 50 Most Influential Physician Executives and Leaders, and hospital medicine was well represented among the honorees. The honored physicians were selected by a panel of experts and peers for their leadership and impact on the profession.

Topping the list was Scott Gottlieb, MD, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. Dr. Gottlieb was confirmed to his position in May 2017 and, in his first year, has focused on price transparency and the approval of generic medications.

Dr. Gottlieb was deputy commissioner of the FDA from 2005-2007, and he has worked as an advisor and analyst for GlaxoSmithKline, the American Enterprise Institute, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, and Avilene Health.

Dr. Gottlieb earned his medical degree from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, and completed his residency at Mount Sinai Hospital. He has worked as a hospitalist at New York University’s Tisch Hospital, the Hospital for Joint Diseases, and Stamford (Conn.) Hospital.
 

Patrick Conway, MD, was listed at number 23 on Modern Healthcare’s 50 Most Influential Physician Executives and Leaders. Formerly the deputy administrator for innovation and quality at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Dr. Conway recently became president and chief executive officer of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina.

Dr. Conway is known for his ability to develop and promote alternative payment models. He was elected to the National Academy of Medicine’s Institute of Medicine in 2014 and was selected as a Master of Hospital Medicine by the Society of Hospital Medicine.
 

Lynn Massingale, MD, the cofounder and chairman of TeamHealth, was named one of the 50 Most Influential Physician Executives and Leaders for a third year running, coming in at number 27 on the list. Dr. Massingale, who also recently was named to the Tennessee Healthcare Hall of Fame, founded TeamHealth in 1979 and was its chief executive officer for 30 years before assuming the role of chairman in 2008.

TeamHealth provides outsourced emergency medicine, hospitalist, critical care, anesthesiology, and acute care surgery services, among other specialties, at more than 3,200 facilities and physician groups across the United States.
 

Veeravat Taecharvongphairoj, MD, a veteran internist and hospitalist at Hemet Valley Medical Center in Hemet, Calif., has been honored by the International Association of Healthcare Professionals in its Leading Physicians of the World publication.

Dr. Taecharvongphairoj completed his residency at the University of Hawaii, Honolulu, before accepting a fellowship in hospital and palliative care at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles. He is a member of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.
 

Sean Bain, MD, has been selected to the Glen Falls (N.Y.) Hospital Foundation Board of Trustees for 2018. Dr. Bain works as a hospitalist/internist at Glen Falls Hospital, where he is the president of medical staff. He manages the credentialing, continuing education, and policies and practices for the staff’s providers.

Dr. Bain received his medical degree at Albany (N.Y.) Medical College and served his residency at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, Winston-Salem, N.C.
 

George Harrison, MD, has been tabbed the new chief medical officer at Fairview Park Hospital in Dublin, Ga. Dr. Harrison will be charged with managing clinical quality and patient safety, staff relations, and clinical integration strategies at the hospital.

Prior to his appointment, Dr. Harrison was the codirector of the hospitalist program at Fairview Park. The Georgia native previously worked in management roles at urgent care centers, family practice centers, and hospitalist programs in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. He is a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians, the Society of Hospital Medicine, and the American Academy of Physician Leaders.

Dr. Harrison taught high school geometry and chemistry before earning his medical degree at the Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta. He did his residency at Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C.
 

BUSINESS MOVES

U.S. Acute Care Solutions (Canton, Ohio), a physician-owned, national provider of emergency medicine and hospitalist services, has extended its relationship with Central Health of Colorado and western Kansas. USACS has acquired the physicians of Front Range Emergency Specialists (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Southwest Emergency Physicians (Durango, Colo.), and Southern Colorado Emergency Specialists (Pueblo, Colo.).

USACS’s acquisition of these three physician groups adds care to more than 175,000 patients each year in central and southwest Colorado. USACS cares for more than 6 million patients per year at more than 200 locations across the United States.
 

VEP Healthcare (Concord, Calif.), an emergency medicine and hospitalist staffing company, has signed on to manage hospitalist and ED services at City Hospital at White Rock in Dallas. Its goals are to increase patient satisfaction, decrease wait times in seeing providers, raise recommendation rates, and lower malpractice claims.

White Rock is a 218-bed, community hospital providing care to East Texas since 1959.

Steven Pantilat, MD, MHM, has been named the first chief of the newly established division of palliative medicine at University of California, San Francisco Health. Dr. Pantilat’s new role commenced on May 1st, with the division launch anticipated for July 1st.

Gary J. Carver, MD, recently was named the chief medical officer at Coshocton (Ohio) Regional Medical Center. Dr. Carver has been the hospital’s director of hospital medicine since 2013 and will continue in that role in addition to his duties as CMO.

In his new position, Dr. Carver joins Coshocton Medical Center’s senior leadership team, providing medical oversight, as well as clinical direction and leadership as the facility seeks accreditation, quality improvement, and service line development.
 

Lisa Shah, MD, has been hired by Sound Physicians as the group’s chief innovation officer. Dr. Shah had been working as senior vice president of Evolent Health’s clinical operations and network. With Sound Physicians, Dr. Shah will lead clinical innovation and transformation for the nationwide organization of physicians providing emergency medical, critical care, and hospital medicine services at more than 180 hospitals.

Dr. Shah will be tasked with developing innovative care models, tech-centered clinical workflows, and telemedicine strategies. She brings a robust hospital medicine background, having served in a 2-year Hospitalist Scholars Fellowship at the University of Chicago, while simultaneously earning a master’s degree in public health.
 

BUSINESS MOVES

The University of Mississippi Medical Center Children’s of Mississippi, Hattiesburg, branch is joining forces with Memorial Hospital at Gulfport (Miss.) to provide care throughout southern Mississippi.

The highlight of the merger is the acquisition of six pediatric clinics into the UMMC family, with UMMC assuming control of the pediatric hospitalist program at each of the locations. The acquired clinics all have been branded as Children’s of Mississippi as of March 26th.
 

Sound Physicians’ parent company Fresenius Medical Care, which has held a controlling interest in Sound since 2014, has sold that interest to Germany-based Summit Partners for a reported $2.15 billion. The acquisition is expected to be finalized later this calendar year.

Sound, which reported revenues of approximately $1.5 billion in 2017, is optimistic that it can tap into new markets while under the Summit umbrella.
 

The Ob Hospitalist Group, Greenville, S.C., the nation’s largest Ob/Gyn hospitalist organization, recently announced the rollout of its CARE (Clinician Assistance, Recovery, and Encourage) program. CARE uses peer support to assist clinicians facing psychological and emotional impacts from adverse Ob events.

CARE peer counseling focuses on confidentiality, empathy, trust, and respect for colleagues suffering from a negative patient-care event. The program is available to more than 600 Ob hospitalist clinicians at more than 120 hospitals nationwide.

Steven Pantilat, MD, MHM, has been named the first chief of the newly established division of palliative medicine at University of California, San Francisco Health. Dr. Pantilat’s new role commenced on May 1st, with the division launch anticipated for July 1st.

Gary J. Carver, MD, recently was named the chief medical officer at Coshocton (Ohio) Regional Medical Center. Dr. Carver has been the hospital’s director of hospital medicine since 2013 and will continue in that role in addition to his duties as CMO.

In his new position, Dr. Carver joins Coshocton Medical Center’s senior leadership team, providing medical oversight, as well as clinical direction and leadership as the facility seeks accreditation, quality improvement, and service line development.
 

Lisa Shah, MD, has been hired by Sound Physicians as the group’s chief innovation officer. Dr. Shah had been working as senior vice president of Evolent Health’s clinical operations and network. With Sound Physicians, Dr. Shah will lead clinical innovation and transformation for the nationwide organization of physicians providing emergency medical, critical care, and hospital medicine services at more than 180 hospitals.

Dr. Shah will be tasked with developing innovative care models, tech-centered clinical workflows, and telemedicine strategies. She brings a robust hospital medicine background, having served in a 2-year Hospitalist Scholars Fellowship at the University of Chicago, while simultaneously earning a master’s degree in public health.
 

BUSINESS MOVES

The University of Mississippi Medical Center Children’s of Mississippi, Hattiesburg, branch is joining forces with Memorial Hospital at Gulfport (Miss.) to provide care throughout southern Mississippi.

The highlight of the merger is the acquisition of six pediatric clinics into the UMMC family, with UMMC assuming control of the pediatric hospitalist program at each of the locations. The acquired clinics all have been branded as Children’s of Mississippi as of March 26th.
 

Sound Physicians’ parent company Fresenius Medical Care, which has held a controlling interest in Sound since 2014, has sold that interest to Germany-based Summit Partners for a reported $2.15 billion. The acquisition is expected to be finalized later this calendar year.

Sound, which reported revenues of approximately $1.5 billion in 2017, is optimistic that it can tap into new markets while under the Summit umbrella.
 

The Ob Hospitalist Group, Greenville, S.C., the nation’s largest Ob/Gyn hospitalist organization, recently announced the rollout of its CARE (Clinician Assistance, Recovery, and Encourage) program. CARE uses peer support to assist clinicians facing psychological and emotional impacts from adverse Ob events.

CARE peer counseling focuses on confidentiality, empathy, trust, and respect for colleagues suffering from a negative patient-care event. The program is available to more than 600 Ob hospitalist clinicians at more than 120 hospitals nationwide.

Steven Pantilat, MD, MHM, has been named the first chief of the newly established division of palliative medicine at University of California, San Francisco Health. Dr. Pantilat’s new role commenced on May 1st, with the division launch anticipated for July 1st.

Gary J. Carver, MD, recently was named the chief medical officer at Coshocton (Ohio) Regional Medical Center. Dr. Carver has been the hospital’s director of hospital medicine since 2013 and will continue in that role in addition to his duties as CMO.

In his new position, Dr. Carver joins Coshocton Medical Center’s senior leadership team, providing medical oversight, as well as clinical direction and leadership as the facility seeks accreditation, quality improvement, and service line development.
 

Lisa Shah, MD, has been hired by Sound Physicians as the group’s chief innovation officer. Dr. Shah had been working as senior vice president of Evolent Health’s clinical operations and network. With Sound Physicians, Dr. Shah will lead clinical innovation and transformation for the nationwide organization of physicians providing emergency medical, critical care, and hospital medicine services at more than 180 hospitals.

Dr. Shah will be tasked with developing innovative care models, tech-centered clinical workflows, and telemedicine strategies. She brings a robust hospital medicine background, having served in a 2-year Hospitalist Scholars Fellowship at the University of Chicago, while simultaneously earning a master’s degree in public health.
 

BUSINESS MOVES

The University of Mississippi Medical Center Children’s of Mississippi, Hattiesburg, branch is joining forces with Memorial Hospital at Gulfport (Miss.) to provide care throughout southern Mississippi.

The highlight of the merger is the acquisition of six pediatric clinics into the UMMC family, with UMMC assuming control of the pediatric hospitalist program at each of the locations. The acquired clinics all have been branded as Children’s of Mississippi as of March 26th.
 

Sound Physicians’ parent company Fresenius Medical Care, which has held a controlling interest in Sound since 2014, has sold that interest to Germany-based Summit Partners for a reported $2.15 billion. The acquisition is expected to be finalized later this calendar year.

Sound, which reported revenues of approximately $1.5 billion in 2017, is optimistic that it can tap into new markets while under the Summit umbrella.
 

The Ob Hospitalist Group, Greenville, S.C., the nation’s largest Ob/Gyn hospitalist organization, recently announced the rollout of its CARE (Clinician Assistance, Recovery, and Encourage) program. CARE uses peer support to assist clinicians facing psychological and emotional impacts from adverse Ob events.

CARE peer counseling focuses on confidentiality, empathy, trust, and respect for colleagues suffering from a negative patient-care event. The program is available to more than 600 Ob hospitalist clinicians at more than 120 hospitals nationwide.

Dr. Lenchus serves as the Society of Hospital Medicine’s Public Policy Committee chair. He is noted for his work as a clinician, hospital administrator, educator, and researcher.
 

J. Kevin Shushtari, MD, FHM, recently was named chief medical officer at the New Britain (Conn.) Hospital for Special Care, where he will focus on managing the medical staff, admissions, credentials, infection prevention, and clinical affiliations.

Tianzhong Yang, MD, has been selected as the new long-term care medical director for Van Dyk Healthcare in Montclair, N.J. Dr. Yang began his career 3 decades ago in China and has been a hospitalist at Hackensack University Medical Center Mountainside, also in Montclair, since 2013.

Dr. Yang has been an instructor at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, specializing in anesthesiology. At Van Dyk, he will work with the nursing staff to help patients recover their independence outside of the hospital setting.

Brent W. Burkey, MD, SFHM, a longtime hospitalist at the Cleveland Clinic, has been named the president of Fisher-Titus Medical Center in Norwalk, Ohio. Dr. Burkey has been the chief medical officer at the Cleveland Clinic’s Avon, Ohio, location the past 2 years. He helped the clinic open the Avon hospital in 2016 when he served as vice president of medical affairs.

Dr. Burkey has been a clinical hospitalist since 2004, and he has a master’s degree in business administration from Cleveland State University. He will run all hospital and medical center operations at Fisher-Titus, including quality and safety.
 

Dr. Maiona has extensive experience as a practicing hospital physician and as an executive. Most recently, he served as national medical director for TeamHealth of Knoxville, Tenn. He also has been an instructor at Tufts University and Harvard Medical School, both in Boston.

Tom Cummins, MD, has been appointed chief medical officer at Bon Secours St. Francis Health System in Greenville, S.C. Dr. Cummins comes to Bon Secours from Catholic Health Initiatives St. Vincent, Arkansas, where he was senior vice president and CMO; he also first served as a hospitalist within that system.

At Bon Secours, Dr. Cummins will oversee the regional health system’s 11 facilities, including St. Francis Downtown in Judson, S.C., and St. Francis Eastside in Greenville.
 

BUSINESS MOVES

The South Korean government recently announced that it has given permission for all general hospitals that use integrated nursing care to take part in a hospitalist system.

The Korean hospitalist program is a pilot in which those physicians provide all medical care for inpatients. It was adopted in September 2016, and 15 hospitals take part in the program. Prior to the recent ruling, those facilities with integrated nursing services were not eligible for the hospitalist program.

Surgical Affiliates (Sacramento, Calif.), a provider of surgical hospitalist services, has announced a partnership with Regional Medical Center in San Jose, Calif. The surgical hospitalists will assist and support local providers, providing 24/7 access to RMC of San Jose, a Level II trauma center.

Dr. Lenchus serves as the Society of Hospital Medicine’s Public Policy Committee chair. He is noted for his work as a clinician, hospital administrator, educator, and researcher.
 

J. Kevin Shushtari, MD, FHM, recently was named chief medical officer at the New Britain (Conn.) Hospital for Special Care, where he will focus on managing the medical staff, admissions, credentials, infection prevention, and clinical affiliations.

Tianzhong Yang, MD, has been selected as the new long-term care medical director for Van Dyk Healthcare in Montclair, N.J. Dr. Yang began his career 3 decades ago in China and has been a hospitalist at Hackensack University Medical Center Mountainside, also in Montclair, since 2013.

Dr. Yang has been an instructor at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, specializing in anesthesiology. At Van Dyk, he will work with the nursing staff to help patients recover their independence outside of the hospital setting.

Brent W. Burkey, MD, SFHM, a longtime hospitalist at the Cleveland Clinic, has been named the president of Fisher-Titus Medical Center in Norwalk, Ohio. Dr. Burkey has been the chief medical officer at the Cleveland Clinic’s Avon, Ohio, location the past 2 years. He helped the clinic open the Avon hospital in 2016 when he served as vice president of medical affairs.

Dr. Burkey has been a clinical hospitalist since 2004, and he has a master’s degree in business administration from Cleveland State University. He will run all hospital and medical center operations at Fisher-Titus, including quality and safety.
 

Dr. Maiona has extensive experience as a practicing hospital physician and as an executive. Most recently, he served as national medical director for TeamHealth of Knoxville, Tenn. He also has been an instructor at Tufts University and Harvard Medical School, both in Boston.

Tom Cummins, MD, has been appointed chief medical officer at Bon Secours St. Francis Health System in Greenville, S.C. Dr. Cummins comes to Bon Secours from Catholic Health Initiatives St. Vincent, Arkansas, where he was senior vice president and CMO; he also first served as a hospitalist within that system.

At Bon Secours, Dr. Cummins will oversee the regional health system’s 11 facilities, including St. Francis Downtown in Judson, S.C., and St. Francis Eastside in Greenville.
 

BUSINESS MOVES

The South Korean government recently announced that it has given permission for all general hospitals that use integrated nursing care to take part in a hospitalist system.

The Korean hospitalist program is a pilot in which those physicians provide all medical care for inpatients. It was adopted in September 2016, and 15 hospitals take part in the program. Prior to the recent ruling, those facilities with integrated nursing services were not eligible for the hospitalist program.

Surgical Affiliates (Sacramento, Calif.), a provider of surgical hospitalist services, has announced a partnership with Regional Medical Center in San Jose, Calif. The surgical hospitalists will assist and support local providers, providing 24/7 access to RMC of San Jose, a Level II trauma center.

Dr. Lenchus serves as the Society of Hospital Medicine’s Public Policy Committee chair. He is noted for his work as a clinician, hospital administrator, educator, and researcher.
 

J. Kevin Shushtari, MD, FHM, recently was named chief medical officer at the New Britain (Conn.) Hospital for Special Care, where he will focus on managing the medical staff, admissions, credentials, infection prevention, and clinical affiliations.

Tianzhong Yang, MD, has been selected as the new long-term care medical director for Van Dyk Healthcare in Montclair, N.J. Dr. Yang began his career 3 decades ago in China and has been a hospitalist at Hackensack University Medical Center Mountainside, also in Montclair, since 2013.

Dr. Yang has been an instructor at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, specializing in anesthesiology. At Van Dyk, he will work with the nursing staff to help patients recover their independence outside of the hospital setting.

Brent W. Burkey, MD, SFHM, a longtime hospitalist at the Cleveland Clinic, has been named the president of Fisher-Titus Medical Center in Norwalk, Ohio. Dr. Burkey has been the chief medical officer at the Cleveland Clinic’s Avon, Ohio, location the past 2 years. He helped the clinic open the Avon hospital in 2016 when he served as vice president of medical affairs.

Dr. Burkey has been a clinical hospitalist since 2004, and he has a master’s degree in business administration from Cleveland State University. He will run all hospital and medical center operations at Fisher-Titus, including quality and safety.
 

Dr. Maiona has extensive experience as a practicing hospital physician and as an executive. Most recently, he served as national medical director for TeamHealth of Knoxville, Tenn. He also has been an instructor at Tufts University and Harvard Medical School, both in Boston.

Tom Cummins, MD, has been appointed chief medical officer at Bon Secours St. Francis Health System in Greenville, S.C. Dr. Cummins comes to Bon Secours from Catholic Health Initiatives St. Vincent, Arkansas, where he was senior vice president and CMO; he also first served as a hospitalist within that system.

At Bon Secours, Dr. Cummins will oversee the regional health system’s 11 facilities, including St. Francis Downtown in Judson, S.C., and St. Francis Eastside in Greenville.
 

BUSINESS MOVES

The South Korean government recently announced that it has given permission for all general hospitals that use integrated nursing care to take part in a hospitalist system.

The Korean hospitalist program is a pilot in which those physicians provide all medical care for inpatients. It was adopted in September 2016, and 15 hospitals take part in the program. Prior to the recent ruling, those facilities with integrated nursing services were not eligible for the hospitalist program.

Surgical Affiliates (Sacramento, Calif.), a provider of surgical hospitalist services, has announced a partnership with Regional Medical Center in San Jose, Calif. The surgical hospitalists will assist and support local providers, providing 24/7 access to RMC of San Jose, a Level II trauma center.

Jason Blair, DO, recently was named an honorary Fellow by the American College of Osteopathic Internists (ACOI) for excellence in the practice of internal medicine. Dr. Blair currently is a hospitalist at Lake Regional Health System in Osage Beach, Mo.

The degree of Fellow is given to physicians who demonstrate continuing professional accomplishments, scholarship, and professional activities, including teaching, research, and community service. The ACOI represents more than 5,000 osteopathic internists and subspecialists nationwide. Dr. Blair joined Lake Regional in 2017.
 

Dr. Howell is the division director of the Collaborative Inpatient Medicine Service (CIMS) and a professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in Baltimore. He received the award for his work with project EQUIP (Excellence in Quality, Utilization Integration, and Patient-Centered Care) to improve quality and efficiency and to reduce mortality, emergency department boarding, and patient lengths of stay.
 

David Svec, MD, MBA, has been named the new chief medical officer at Stanford Health Care – ValleyCare in Pleasanton, Calif. Dr. Svec has served as a hospitalist and internal medicine specialist at ValleyCare for the past 6 years. Previously, he was ValleyCare’s medical director of the hospitalist team and a clinical assistant professor of medicine. Dr. Svec helped develop the hospitalist program at ValleyCare and will continue to work in that capacity while advancing into his new role.

As CMO, Dr. Svec will carry on the mission of Stanford Health Care, including increasing innovative programs, monitoring outcome measures, and developing and implementing improvement plans.

Dr. Svec earned Stanford Health Care’s 2016 David A. Rytand Clinical Teaching Award, the 2016 Lawrence Mathers Award: Exceptional Commitment to Teaching/Active Involvement in Medical Student Education, and the 2014 Arthur L. Bloomfield Award for Excellence in Clinical Teaching.
 

Brent Baboolal, MD, recently was selected by the International Association of HealthCare Professionals to be part of the Leading Physicians of the World. Dr. Baboolal is an internist and a hospitalist serving the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas.

Trained in Grenada, Dr. Baboolal came to the United States in 2009 and began work at Stamford (Conn.) Hospital. He is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and is renowned as a leading internist and hospitalist. He is a former associate professor at the University of Texas School of Nursing.

BUSINESS MOVES

Sound Physicians in Tacoma, Wash., recently announced that it will take over providing hospitalist services for SSM Health DePaul Hospital and SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital in St. Louis. Sound Physicians already had been running critical care at SSM Health St. Clare Hospital, Fenton, Mo.

SSM Health is a Catholic, faith-based, nonprofit health system serving communities in Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin.

“We have been impressed with their efficiency and professionalism of establishing Sound Physicians’ infrastructure that supports providers and implementing processes to drive improved outcomes,” said Rajiv Patel, MD, vice president of medical affairs for SSM Health DePaul Hospital.

Sound Physicians prides itself on improving quality and lowering costs of acute care for health organizations and facilities. Sound provides emergency medicine, hospital medicine, critical care, transitional care, and advisory services for its partners nationwide.
 

Pittsburgh-based health leaders Highmark Health and Allegheny Health Network, and Erie, Pa.–based Lecom Health have agreed to establish an affiliation with Warren (Pa.) General Hospital, a full-service, 87-bed facility about an hour from Erie. The agreement will provide Warren General with capital to make improvements to its maternity unit and radiation oncology equipment, among other services.

The partnership includes Warren General agreeing to use Allegheny Health Network (AHN) affiliates for clinical, emergency, and hospitalist services, and Warren General physicians will join the AHN integrated network. AHN, Highmark, and Lecom will assist Warren General with capital investments and community health reinvestment projects.
 

Hospitalist group Adfinitas Health in Hanover, Md., announced it has acquired a majority interest in Advanced Inpatient Medicine in Lakeville, Pa. Advanced Inpatient Medicine (AIM) provides hospitalist services for four hospitals and several acute care and skilled nursing facilities in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

AIM and its 40 employees join Adfinitas, which has partnership agreements with 14 hospitals and 40 postacute facilities in Maryland, Virginia, and Michigan. AIM and Adfinitas share the theory of integrating advanced practice providers, such as nurse practitioners and physician assistants, into their physician-led care teams.

Jason Blair, DO, recently was named an honorary Fellow by the American College of Osteopathic Internists (ACOI) for excellence in the practice of internal medicine. Dr. Blair currently is a hospitalist at Lake Regional Health System in Osage Beach, Mo.

The degree of Fellow is given to physicians who demonstrate continuing professional accomplishments, scholarship, and professional activities, including teaching, research, and community service. The ACOI represents more than 5,000 osteopathic internists and subspecialists nationwide. Dr. Blair joined Lake Regional in 2017.
 

Dr. Howell is the division director of the Collaborative Inpatient Medicine Service (CIMS) and a professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in Baltimore. He received the award for his work with project EQUIP (Excellence in Quality, Utilization Integration, and Patient-Centered Care) to improve quality and efficiency and to reduce mortality, emergency department boarding, and patient lengths of stay.
 

David Svec, MD, MBA, has been named the new chief medical officer at Stanford Health Care – ValleyCare in Pleasanton, Calif. Dr. Svec has served as a hospitalist and internal medicine specialist at ValleyCare for the past 6 years. Previously, he was ValleyCare’s medical director of the hospitalist team and a clinical assistant professor of medicine. Dr. Svec helped develop the hospitalist program at ValleyCare and will continue to work in that capacity while advancing into his new role.

As CMO, Dr. Svec will carry on the mission of Stanford Health Care, including increasing innovative programs, monitoring outcome measures, and developing and implementing improvement plans.

Dr. Svec earned Stanford Health Care’s 2016 David A. Rytand Clinical Teaching Award, the 2016 Lawrence Mathers Award: Exceptional Commitment to Teaching/Active Involvement in Medical Student Education, and the 2014 Arthur L. Bloomfield Award for Excellence in Clinical Teaching.
 

Brent Baboolal, MD, recently was selected by the International Association of HealthCare Professionals to be part of the Leading Physicians of the World. Dr. Baboolal is an internist and a hospitalist serving the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas.

Trained in Grenada, Dr. Baboolal came to the United States in 2009 and began work at Stamford (Conn.) Hospital. He is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and is renowned as a leading internist and hospitalist. He is a former associate professor at the University of Texas School of Nursing.

BUSINESS MOVES

Sound Physicians in Tacoma, Wash., recently announced that it will take over providing hospitalist services for SSM Health DePaul Hospital and SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital in St. Louis. Sound Physicians already had been running critical care at SSM Health St. Clare Hospital, Fenton, Mo.

SSM Health is a Catholic, faith-based, nonprofit health system serving communities in Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin.

“We have been impressed with their efficiency and professionalism of establishing Sound Physicians’ infrastructure that supports providers and implementing processes to drive improved outcomes,” said Rajiv Patel, MD, vice president of medical affairs for SSM Health DePaul Hospital.

Sound Physicians prides itself on improving quality and lowering costs of acute care for health organizations and facilities. Sound provides emergency medicine, hospital medicine, critical care, transitional care, and advisory services for its partners nationwide.
 

Pittsburgh-based health leaders Highmark Health and Allegheny Health Network, and Erie, Pa.–based Lecom Health have agreed to establish an affiliation with Warren (Pa.) General Hospital, a full-service, 87-bed facility about an hour from Erie. The agreement will provide Warren General with capital to make improvements to its maternity unit and radiation oncology equipment, among other services.

The partnership includes Warren General agreeing to use Allegheny Health Network (AHN) affiliates for clinical, emergency, and hospitalist services, and Warren General physicians will join the AHN integrated network. AHN, Highmark, and Lecom will assist Warren General with capital investments and community health reinvestment projects.
 

Hospitalist group Adfinitas Health in Hanover, Md., announced it has acquired a majority interest in Advanced Inpatient Medicine in Lakeville, Pa. Advanced Inpatient Medicine (AIM) provides hospitalist services for four hospitals and several acute care and skilled nursing facilities in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

AIM and its 40 employees join Adfinitas, which has partnership agreements with 14 hospitals and 40 postacute facilities in Maryland, Virginia, and Michigan. AIM and Adfinitas share the theory of integrating advanced practice providers, such as nurse practitioners and physician assistants, into their physician-led care teams.

Jason Blair, DO, recently was named an honorary Fellow by the American College of Osteopathic Internists (ACOI) for excellence in the practice of internal medicine. Dr. Blair currently is a hospitalist at Lake Regional Health System in Osage Beach, Mo.

The degree of Fellow is given to physicians who demonstrate continuing professional accomplishments, scholarship, and professional activities, including teaching, research, and community service. The ACOI represents more than 5,000 osteopathic internists and subspecialists nationwide. Dr. Blair joined Lake Regional in 2017.
 

Dr. Howell is the division director of the Collaborative Inpatient Medicine Service (CIMS) and a professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in Baltimore. He received the award for his work with project EQUIP (Excellence in Quality, Utilization Integration, and Patient-Centered Care) to improve quality and efficiency and to reduce mortality, emergency department boarding, and patient lengths of stay.
 

David Svec, MD, MBA, has been named the new chief medical officer at Stanford Health Care – ValleyCare in Pleasanton, Calif. Dr. Svec has served as a hospitalist and internal medicine specialist at ValleyCare for the past 6 years. Previously, he was ValleyCare’s medical director of the hospitalist team and a clinical assistant professor of medicine. Dr. Svec helped develop the hospitalist program at ValleyCare and will continue to work in that capacity while advancing into his new role.

As CMO, Dr. Svec will carry on the mission of Stanford Health Care, including increasing innovative programs, monitoring outcome measures, and developing and implementing improvement plans.

Dr. Svec earned Stanford Health Care’s 2016 David A. Rytand Clinical Teaching Award, the 2016 Lawrence Mathers Award: Exceptional Commitment to Teaching/Active Involvement in Medical Student Education, and the 2014 Arthur L. Bloomfield Award for Excellence in Clinical Teaching.
 

Brent Baboolal, MD, recently was selected by the International Association of HealthCare Professionals to be part of the Leading Physicians of the World. Dr. Baboolal is an internist and a hospitalist serving the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas.

Trained in Grenada, Dr. Baboolal came to the United States in 2009 and began work at Stamford (Conn.) Hospital. He is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and is renowned as a leading internist and hospitalist. He is a former associate professor at the University of Texas School of Nursing.

BUSINESS MOVES

Sound Physicians in Tacoma, Wash., recently announced that it will take over providing hospitalist services for SSM Health DePaul Hospital and SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital in St. Louis. Sound Physicians already had been running critical care at SSM Health St. Clare Hospital, Fenton, Mo.

SSM Health is a Catholic, faith-based, nonprofit health system serving communities in Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin.

“We have been impressed with their efficiency and professionalism of establishing Sound Physicians’ infrastructure that supports providers and implementing processes to drive improved outcomes,” said Rajiv Patel, MD, vice president of medical affairs for SSM Health DePaul Hospital.

Sound Physicians prides itself on improving quality and lowering costs of acute care for health organizations and facilities. Sound provides emergency medicine, hospital medicine, critical care, transitional care, and advisory services for its partners nationwide.
 

Pittsburgh-based health leaders Highmark Health and Allegheny Health Network, and Erie, Pa.–based Lecom Health have agreed to establish an affiliation with Warren (Pa.) General Hospital, a full-service, 87-bed facility about an hour from Erie. The agreement will provide Warren General with capital to make improvements to its maternity unit and radiation oncology equipment, among other services.

The partnership includes Warren General agreeing to use Allegheny Health Network (AHN) affiliates for clinical, emergency, and hospitalist services, and Warren General physicians will join the AHN integrated network. AHN, Highmark, and Lecom will assist Warren General with capital investments and community health reinvestment projects.
 

Hospitalist group Adfinitas Health in Hanover, Md., announced it has acquired a majority interest in Advanced Inpatient Medicine in Lakeville, Pa. Advanced Inpatient Medicine (AIM) provides hospitalist services for four hospitals and several acute care and skilled nursing facilities in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

AIM and its 40 employees join Adfinitas, which has partnership agreements with 14 hospitals and 40 postacute facilities in Maryland, Virginia, and Michigan. AIM and Adfinitas share the theory of integrating advanced practice providers, such as nurse practitioners and physician assistants, into their physician-led care teams.

Michael Rader, MD, has been named the chief medical officer of the Department of Veterans Affairs New York/New Jersey Health Care Network. The network serves upward of a half-million veterans in 76 counties in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Dr. Rader’s appointment began on Oct. 15, 2017.

Previously, Dr. Rader was chief medical officer at Prospect East Orange (N.J.) General. In his new position, the 35-year veteran will be charged with overseeing care at VA facilities in Albany Stratton, Bath, Canandaigua, and Syracuse in New York, as well as the VA Western New York Health System, the New York Harbor Health System, the New Jersey Health Care System, Hudson Valley Healthcare System, the James J. Peters and Northport VA Medical Centers, as well as 66 community-based outpatient clinics.

The Rhode Island Medical Society has elected Bradley Collins, MD, as its new president. An internist and hospitalist, Dr. Collins practices at Miriam Hospital in Providence, R.I., where he started in 2006 as a staff hospitalist. He’s now the medical director of appeals for Lifespan at Miriam.

Dr. Collins is an assistant professor of clinical medicine at Brown University’s Alpert Medical School, while also serving as a fellow for the Society of Hospital Medicine.

Tracy Cardin, ACNP, SFHM, has been named associate director of clinical integration at Adfinitas Health, a private hospitalist company based in Maryland that serves more than 50 hospitals and post-acute care centers across the Mid-Atlantic region. Cardin is responsible for advancing the company’s training and onboarding infrastructure to support the full integration of physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants into the Adfinitas care delivery model.

Business moves

Management Service Organization Continuum Health (Marlton, N.J.) has signed an agreement with the Mid-Atlantic region’s largest private hospitalist group, Adfinitas Health (Hanover, Md.), to be its revenue management cycle partner. Founded in 1999, Continuum Health now serves more than 1,500 providers in more than 400 locations.

Michael Rader, MD, has been named the chief medical officer of the Department of Veterans Affairs New York/New Jersey Health Care Network. The network serves upward of a half-million veterans in 76 counties in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Dr. Rader’s appointment began on Oct. 15, 2017.

Previously, Dr. Rader was chief medical officer at Prospect East Orange (N.J.) General. In his new position, the 35-year veteran will be charged with overseeing care at VA facilities in Albany Stratton, Bath, Canandaigua, and Syracuse in New York, as well as the VA Western New York Health System, the New York Harbor Health System, the New Jersey Health Care System, Hudson Valley Healthcare System, the James J. Peters and Northport VA Medical Centers, as well as 66 community-based outpatient clinics.

The Rhode Island Medical Society has elected Bradley Collins, MD, as its new president. An internist and hospitalist, Dr. Collins practices at Miriam Hospital in Providence, R.I., where he started in 2006 as a staff hospitalist. He’s now the medical director of appeals for Lifespan at Miriam.

Dr. Collins is an assistant professor of clinical medicine at Brown University’s Alpert Medical School, while also serving as a fellow for the Society of Hospital Medicine.

Tracy Cardin, ACNP, SFHM, has been named associate director of clinical integration at Adfinitas Health, a private hospitalist company based in Maryland that serves more than 50 hospitals and post-acute care centers across the Mid-Atlantic region. Cardin is responsible for advancing the company’s training and onboarding infrastructure to support the full integration of physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants into the Adfinitas care delivery model.

Business moves

Management Service Organization Continuum Health (Marlton, N.J.) has signed an agreement with the Mid-Atlantic region’s largest private hospitalist group, Adfinitas Health (Hanover, Md.), to be its revenue management cycle partner. Founded in 1999, Continuum Health now serves more than 1,500 providers in more than 400 locations.

Michael Rader, MD, has been named the chief medical officer of the Department of Veterans Affairs New York/New Jersey Health Care Network. The network serves upward of a half-million veterans in 76 counties in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Dr. Rader’s appointment began on Oct. 15, 2017.

Previously, Dr. Rader was chief medical officer at Prospect East Orange (N.J.) General. In his new position, the 35-year veteran will be charged with overseeing care at VA facilities in Albany Stratton, Bath, Canandaigua, and Syracuse in New York, as well as the VA Western New York Health System, the New York Harbor Health System, the New Jersey Health Care System, Hudson Valley Healthcare System, the James J. Peters and Northport VA Medical Centers, as well as 66 community-based outpatient clinics.

The Rhode Island Medical Society has elected Bradley Collins, MD, as its new president. An internist and hospitalist, Dr. Collins practices at Miriam Hospital in Providence, R.I., where he started in 2006 as a staff hospitalist. He’s now the medical director of appeals for Lifespan at Miriam.

Dr. Collins is an assistant professor of clinical medicine at Brown University’s Alpert Medical School, while also serving as a fellow for the Society of Hospital Medicine.

Tracy Cardin, ACNP, SFHM, has been named associate director of clinical integration at Adfinitas Health, a private hospitalist company based in Maryland that serves more than 50 hospitals and post-acute care centers across the Mid-Atlantic region. Cardin is responsible for advancing the company’s training and onboarding infrastructure to support the full integration of physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants into the Adfinitas care delivery model.

Business moves

Management Service Organization Continuum Health (Marlton, N.J.) has signed an agreement with the Mid-Atlantic region’s largest private hospitalist group, Adfinitas Health (Hanover, Md.), to be its revenue management cycle partner. Founded in 1999, Continuum Health now serves more than 1,500 providers in more than 400 locations.

Pediatric hospitalist Patrick Conway, MD, has been named president and chief executive officer of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina. Dr. Conway will take over for the retiring Brad Wilson on Oct. 1.

Dr. Conway is currently the deputy administrator for Innovation and Quality, and the director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Previously, he was CMO at CMS, having served both the Obama and Trump administrations.

Hossam Hafez, MD, recently claimed the role of chief of Hospitalist Service with Health Quest Medical Practice (LaGrangeville, N.Y.). Dr. Hafez will be based out of Health Quest’s Vassar Brothers Medical Center in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., coordinating care in that hospital and throughout the Health Quest system.

Dr. Hafez has served full-time hospitalist stints with MidMichigan Health’s Physician Hospitalist Group, as well as with RiteMed Urgent Care. A native of Egypt, Dr. Hafez is fluent in both English and Arabic.
 

Caldwell UNC Healthcare (Lenoir, N.C.) has promoted David Lowry, MD, to chief medical officer as of Aug. 1, 2017.

Dr. Lowry, a longtime hospitalist and veteran in hospital medicine in general, will lead the building’s hospitalist program, support the chief of staff, and provide direct patient care, as well. He will serve as physician advisor for Caldwell’s Clinical Documentation, Utilization Review, Respiratory Care, and Rehabilitation departments.

Dr. Lowry boasts more than 25 years experience in hospital medicine and led in the creation of Caldwell’s hospitalist program. Since joining Caldwell, he has held leadership positions including chief of medicine. He received the hospital’s Donald D. McNeill Jr. Award for Outstanding Physician Leadership in 2014, as voted by his peers.
 

Joahd Toure, MD, recently was hired by Adirondack Health (Saranac Lake, N.Y.) as its new chief medical officer. He started his new position in late June 2017.

Longtime employee Emily Chapman, MD, has been promoted to chief medical officer and vice president of medical affairs at Children’s Minnesota Hospital (Minneapolis). The former vice CMO took on her new role on July 5, 2017.

Mark Sockell, MD, is the new chief medical officer at Meritage Medical Network in Novato, Calif. Meritage is a physician-run network that includes more than 700 board-certified physicians in both primary care and specialist fields.

Dr. Sockell has been a member of Meritage’s Board of Directors since 2014, and he specializes in risk adjustment and quality measures. His career has focused on medical education, headed by a stint as director of medical education at St. Mary’s Medical Center (San Francisco). There, he created and ran the inpatient hospitalist program.
 

Business Moves

Hammond-Henry Hospital (Geneseo, Ill.) recently announced the creation of a hospitalist program, utilizing the facility’s own emergency room physicians. Hammond-Henry will staff one emergency room doctor available for rounds outside of their ER work throughout the day.

The center’s hospitalist program will be led by medical director Kevin Jeffries, MD, who also will serve as one of the hospital’s ER physicians/hospitalists.
 

Avera Queen of Peace Hospital (Mitchell, S.D.) started its own hospitalist program on Aug. 1, 2017, launching with the goal of improving patient experience within the building. Avera’s hospitalists will be on-site for 12 hours each day, assisting specialists and working with patients who do not have a local primary care physician.

Queen of Peace is the regional referral center for an 11-county area, part of Avera Health System’s 330 facilities across North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, and Nebraska.
 

Pediatric hospitalist Patrick Conway, MD, has been named president and chief executive officer of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina. Dr. Conway will take over for the retiring Brad Wilson on Oct. 1.

Dr. Conway is currently the deputy administrator for Innovation and Quality, and the director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Previously, he was CMO at CMS, having served both the Obama and Trump administrations.

Hossam Hafez, MD, recently claimed the role of chief of Hospitalist Service with Health Quest Medical Practice (LaGrangeville, N.Y.). Dr. Hafez will be based out of Health Quest’s Vassar Brothers Medical Center in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., coordinating care in that hospital and throughout the Health Quest system.

Dr. Hafez has served full-time hospitalist stints with MidMichigan Health’s Physician Hospitalist Group, as well as with RiteMed Urgent Care. A native of Egypt, Dr. Hafez is fluent in both English and Arabic.
 

Caldwell UNC Healthcare (Lenoir, N.C.) has promoted David Lowry, MD, to chief medical officer as of Aug. 1, 2017.

Dr. Lowry, a longtime hospitalist and veteran in hospital medicine in general, will lead the building’s hospitalist program, support the chief of staff, and provide direct patient care, as well. He will serve as physician advisor for Caldwell’s Clinical Documentation, Utilization Review, Respiratory Care, and Rehabilitation departments.

Dr. Lowry boasts more than 25 years experience in hospital medicine and led in the creation of Caldwell’s hospitalist program. Since joining Caldwell, he has held leadership positions including chief of medicine. He received the hospital’s Donald D. McNeill Jr. Award for Outstanding Physician Leadership in 2014, as voted by his peers.
 

Joahd Toure, MD, recently was hired by Adirondack Health (Saranac Lake, N.Y.) as its new chief medical officer. He started his new position in late June 2017.

Longtime employee Emily Chapman, MD, has been promoted to chief medical officer and vice president of medical affairs at Children’s Minnesota Hospital (Minneapolis). The former vice CMO took on her new role on July 5, 2017.

Mark Sockell, MD, is the new chief medical officer at Meritage Medical Network in Novato, Calif. Meritage is a physician-run network that includes more than 700 board-certified physicians in both primary care and specialist fields.

Dr. Sockell has been a member of Meritage’s Board of Directors since 2014, and he specializes in risk adjustment and quality measures. His career has focused on medical education, headed by a stint as director of medical education at St. Mary’s Medical Center (San Francisco). There, he created and ran the inpatient hospitalist program.
 

Business Moves

Hammond-Henry Hospital (Geneseo, Ill.) recently announced the creation of a hospitalist program, utilizing the facility’s own emergency room physicians. Hammond-Henry will staff one emergency room doctor available for rounds outside of their ER work throughout the day.

The center’s hospitalist program will be led by medical director Kevin Jeffries, MD, who also will serve as one of the hospital’s ER physicians/hospitalists.
 

Avera Queen of Peace Hospital (Mitchell, S.D.) started its own hospitalist program on Aug. 1, 2017, launching with the goal of improving patient experience within the building. Avera’s hospitalists will be on-site for 12 hours each day, assisting specialists and working with patients who do not have a local primary care physician.

Queen of Peace is the regional referral center for an 11-county area, part of Avera Health System’s 330 facilities across North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, and Nebraska.
 

Pediatric hospitalist Patrick Conway, MD, has been named president and chief executive officer of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina. Dr. Conway will take over for the retiring Brad Wilson on Oct. 1.

Dr. Conway is currently the deputy administrator for Innovation and Quality, and the director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Previously, he was CMO at CMS, having served both the Obama and Trump administrations.

Hossam Hafez, MD, recently claimed the role of chief of Hospitalist Service with Health Quest Medical Practice (LaGrangeville, N.Y.). Dr. Hafez will be based out of Health Quest’s Vassar Brothers Medical Center in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., coordinating care in that hospital and throughout the Health Quest system.

Dr. Hafez has served full-time hospitalist stints with MidMichigan Health’s Physician Hospitalist Group, as well as with RiteMed Urgent Care. A native of Egypt, Dr. Hafez is fluent in both English and Arabic.
 

Caldwell UNC Healthcare (Lenoir, N.C.) has promoted David Lowry, MD, to chief medical officer as of Aug. 1, 2017.

Dr. Lowry, a longtime hospitalist and veteran in hospital medicine in general, will lead the building’s hospitalist program, support the chief of staff, and provide direct patient care, as well. He will serve as physician advisor for Caldwell’s Clinical Documentation, Utilization Review, Respiratory Care, and Rehabilitation departments.

Dr. Lowry boasts more than 25 years experience in hospital medicine and led in the creation of Caldwell’s hospitalist program. Since joining Caldwell, he has held leadership positions including chief of medicine. He received the hospital’s Donald D. McNeill Jr. Award for Outstanding Physician Leadership in 2014, as voted by his peers.
 

Joahd Toure, MD, recently was hired by Adirondack Health (Saranac Lake, N.Y.) as its new chief medical officer. He started his new position in late June 2017.

Longtime employee Emily Chapman, MD, has been promoted to chief medical officer and vice president of medical affairs at Children’s Minnesota Hospital (Minneapolis). The former vice CMO took on her new role on July 5, 2017.

Mark Sockell, MD, is the new chief medical officer at Meritage Medical Network in Novato, Calif. Meritage is a physician-run network that includes more than 700 board-certified physicians in both primary care and specialist fields.

Dr. Sockell has been a member of Meritage’s Board of Directors since 2014, and he specializes in risk adjustment and quality measures. His career has focused on medical education, headed by a stint as director of medical education at St. Mary’s Medical Center (San Francisco). There, he created and ran the inpatient hospitalist program.
 

Business Moves

Hammond-Henry Hospital (Geneseo, Ill.) recently announced the creation of a hospitalist program, utilizing the facility’s own emergency room physicians. Hammond-Henry will staff one emergency room doctor available for rounds outside of their ER work throughout the day.

The center’s hospitalist program will be led by medical director Kevin Jeffries, MD, who also will serve as one of the hospital’s ER physicians/hospitalists.
 

Avera Queen of Peace Hospital (Mitchell, S.D.) started its own hospitalist program on Aug. 1, 2017, launching with the goal of improving patient experience within the building. Avera’s hospitalists will be on-site for 12 hours each day, assisting specialists and working with patients who do not have a local primary care physician.

Queen of Peace is the regional referral center for an 11-county area, part of Avera Health System’s 330 facilities across North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, and Nebraska.
 

Robert Harrington, MD, recently was tabbed as chief medical officer of SurveyVitals, a health care analytics company specializing in digital patient-experience surveys. Dr. Harrington has 20 years experience, including CMO roles with Reliant Post–Acute Care Solutions and Locum Leaders, a hospitalist staffing firm.

David Northington, DO, has been named the new chief medical officer at Stone County Hospital in Wiggins, Miss. The former hospitalist comes to Stone County after working as chief of staff and chief medical information officer at Memorial Hospital in Gulfport, Miss., where he was also medical director of the hospitalist program.

In addition to his new role, Dr. Northington will serve as medical director of the Woodland Village Nursing Center in Diamondhead, Miss., and the Stone County Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Wiggins.
 

Schuyler K. Geller, MD, has been recognized by Continental Who’s Who as a Pinnacle Lifetime Member in the medical field. Dr. Geller works as a full-time hospitalist and a principal consultant for The CopperRidge Group, which provides guidance to patients in health, wellness, and fitness services and products.

In addition to his work at the CopperRidge Group, Dr. Geller is a member of Civil Vision International’s board of directors. He has extensive civilian and military-based experience in the United States, Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia.

A physician leader in the U.S. Air Force, Dr. Geller earned White House Medical Unit commendations for planning and leading the surgical and intensive care unit teams to support President Clinton’s trips to Vietnam and Africa in 2000.
 

Nikhil Sharma, MD, recently was selected by the International Association of HealthCare Professionals to be part of the Leading Physicians of the World. Dr. Sharma is a hospitalist serving at the Ochsner Health System in New Orleans.

Dr. Sharma, a member of the Southern Hospital Association and the Louisiana Medical Association, began his medical career in 2009 with a residency and fellowship at Ochsner, where he has remained ever since. He specializes in internal medicine and transplants.
 

I. Carol Nwelue, MD, a longtime hospitalist and the medical director of the Sparrow Medical Group Adult Hospitalist Service, recently received the Sparrow Physician Leadership Award. The award goes to an emerging leader who provides outstanding work in areas such as safety, clinical or service excellence, research, teaching, publishing, teamwork, and innovation.

Dr. Nwelue completed the Sparrow Physician Leadership Academy program, earning recognition for innovation in leadership, as well as practice management.
 

Laura Jin, MD, recently was promoted to medical director for utilization management at the University of Maryland Shore Regional Health. In her new role, Dr. Jin will identify and facilitate the resolution of utilization issues; in so doing, she will serve as a consultant leader to the health care system, its physicians, its advance practice providers, and the care management team.

Dr. Jin will remain as a hospitalist at Digestive Health Associates while fulfilling the duties in her new position at Shore Regional. She will guide the center on issues such as compliance, level of care, length of stay, resource management, reimbursement, emergency department throughput, and more.
 

Business Moves

The Mount Sinai Health System and The New Jewish Home, both based in New York City, have extended their relationship to improve care of hospitalized patients who require specialized post-acute or long-term care at a skilled nursing facility. Through the Mount Sinai-New Jewish Home Hospitalist Program, Mount Sinai hospitalists will be charged with providing a seamless transition to The New Jewish Home for patients who need nursing care.

This model will buoy communication and ensure the sharing of vital information between the two venues, reducing the risk of rehospitalization.
 

Gryphon Investors, based in San Francisco, recently announced it will acquire OB Hospitalist Group, one of the nation’s leading providers of obstetric hospital medicine. The deal with OBHG’s current partner, Ares Management, was finalized in late July.

OBHG, based out of Mauldin, S.C., has a national network of more than 550 OB hospitalists, covering more than 120 hospitals in 28 states. OBHG’s hospitalist program features an obstetric emergency department, providing expectant mothers at partner hospitals with 24/7/365 access to medical care.
 

Envision Healthcare, based in Nashville, Tenn., and Greenwood Village, Colo., a provider of physician-led services and ambulatory surgery services, has acquired Milwaukee-based Infinity Healthcare. Infinity’s group-physician practice includes more than 340 physicians and providers delivering emergency and hospital medicine, anesthesia, and radiology services.

Robert Harrington, MD, recently was tabbed as chief medical officer of SurveyVitals, a health care analytics company specializing in digital patient-experience surveys. Dr. Harrington has 20 years experience, including CMO roles with Reliant Post–Acute Care Solutions and Locum Leaders, a hospitalist staffing firm.

David Northington, DO, has been named the new chief medical officer at Stone County Hospital in Wiggins, Miss. The former hospitalist comes to Stone County after working as chief of staff and chief medical information officer at Memorial Hospital in Gulfport, Miss., where he was also medical director of the hospitalist program.

In addition to his new role, Dr. Northington will serve as medical director of the Woodland Village Nursing Center in Diamondhead, Miss., and the Stone County Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Wiggins.
 

Schuyler K. Geller, MD, has been recognized by Continental Who’s Who as a Pinnacle Lifetime Member in the medical field. Dr. Geller works as a full-time hospitalist and a principal consultant for The CopperRidge Group, which provides guidance to patients in health, wellness, and fitness services and products.

In addition to his work at the CopperRidge Group, Dr. Geller is a member of Civil Vision International’s board of directors. He has extensive civilian and military-based experience in the United States, Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia.

A physician leader in the U.S. Air Force, Dr. Geller earned White House Medical Unit commendations for planning and leading the surgical and intensive care unit teams to support President Clinton’s trips to Vietnam and Africa in 2000.
 

Nikhil Sharma, MD, recently was selected by the International Association of HealthCare Professionals to be part of the Leading Physicians of the World. Dr. Sharma is a hospitalist serving at the Ochsner Health System in New Orleans.

Dr. Sharma, a member of the Southern Hospital Association and the Louisiana Medical Association, began his medical career in 2009 with a residency and fellowship at Ochsner, where he has remained ever since. He specializes in internal medicine and transplants.
 

I. Carol Nwelue, MD, a longtime hospitalist and the medical director of the Sparrow Medical Group Adult Hospitalist Service, recently received the Sparrow Physician Leadership Award. The award goes to an emerging leader who provides outstanding work in areas such as safety, clinical or service excellence, research, teaching, publishing, teamwork, and innovation.

Dr. Nwelue completed the Sparrow Physician Leadership Academy program, earning recognition for innovation in leadership, as well as practice management.
 

Laura Jin, MD, recently was promoted to medical director for utilization management at the University of Maryland Shore Regional Health. In her new role, Dr. Jin will identify and facilitate the resolution of utilization issues; in so doing, she will serve as a consultant leader to the health care system, its physicians, its advance practice providers, and the care management team.

Dr. Jin will remain as a hospitalist at Digestive Health Associates while fulfilling the duties in her new position at Shore Regional. She will guide the center on issues such as compliance, level of care, length of stay, resource management, reimbursement, emergency department throughput, and more.
 

Business Moves

The Mount Sinai Health System and The New Jewish Home, both based in New York City, have extended their relationship to improve care of hospitalized patients who require specialized post-acute or long-term care at a skilled nursing facility. Through the Mount Sinai-New Jewish Home Hospitalist Program, Mount Sinai hospitalists will be charged with providing a seamless transition to The New Jewish Home for patients who need nursing care.

This model will buoy communication and ensure the sharing of vital information between the two venues, reducing the risk of rehospitalization.
 

Gryphon Investors, based in San Francisco, recently announced it will acquire OB Hospitalist Group, one of the nation’s leading providers of obstetric hospital medicine. The deal with OBHG’s current partner, Ares Management, was finalized in late July.

OBHG, based out of Mauldin, S.C., has a national network of more than 550 OB hospitalists, covering more than 120 hospitals in 28 states. OBHG’s hospitalist program features an obstetric emergency department, providing expectant mothers at partner hospitals with 24/7/365 access to medical care.
 

Envision Healthcare, based in Nashville, Tenn., and Greenwood Village, Colo., a provider of physician-led services and ambulatory surgery services, has acquired Milwaukee-based Infinity Healthcare. Infinity’s group-physician practice includes more than 340 physicians and providers delivering emergency and hospital medicine, anesthesia, and radiology services.

Robert Harrington, MD, recently was tabbed as chief medical officer of SurveyVitals, a health care analytics company specializing in digital patient-experience surveys. Dr. Harrington has 20 years experience, including CMO roles with Reliant Post–Acute Care Solutions and Locum Leaders, a hospitalist staffing firm.

David Northington, DO, has been named the new chief medical officer at Stone County Hospital in Wiggins, Miss. The former hospitalist comes to Stone County after working as chief of staff and chief medical information officer at Memorial Hospital in Gulfport, Miss., where he was also medical director of the hospitalist program.

In addition to his new role, Dr. Northington will serve as medical director of the Woodland Village Nursing Center in Diamondhead, Miss., and the Stone County Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Wiggins.
 

Schuyler K. Geller, MD, has been recognized by Continental Who’s Who as a Pinnacle Lifetime Member in the medical field. Dr. Geller works as a full-time hospitalist and a principal consultant for The CopperRidge Group, which provides guidance to patients in health, wellness, and fitness services and products.

In addition to his work at the CopperRidge Group, Dr. Geller is a member of Civil Vision International’s board of directors. He has extensive civilian and military-based experience in the United States, Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia.

A physician leader in the U.S. Air Force, Dr. Geller earned White House Medical Unit commendations for planning and leading the surgical and intensive care unit teams to support President Clinton’s trips to Vietnam and Africa in 2000.
 

Nikhil Sharma, MD, recently was selected by the International Association of HealthCare Professionals to be part of the Leading Physicians of the World. Dr. Sharma is a hospitalist serving at the Ochsner Health System in New Orleans.

Dr. Sharma, a member of the Southern Hospital Association and the Louisiana Medical Association, began his medical career in 2009 with a residency and fellowship at Ochsner, where he has remained ever since. He specializes in internal medicine and transplants.
 

I. Carol Nwelue, MD, a longtime hospitalist and the medical director of the Sparrow Medical Group Adult Hospitalist Service, recently received the Sparrow Physician Leadership Award. The award goes to an emerging leader who provides outstanding work in areas such as safety, clinical or service excellence, research, teaching, publishing, teamwork, and innovation.

Dr. Nwelue completed the Sparrow Physician Leadership Academy program, earning recognition for innovation in leadership, as well as practice management.
 

Laura Jin, MD, recently was promoted to medical director for utilization management at the University of Maryland Shore Regional Health. In her new role, Dr. Jin will identify and facilitate the resolution of utilization issues; in so doing, she will serve as a consultant leader to the health care system, its physicians, its advance practice providers, and the care management team.

Dr. Jin will remain as a hospitalist at Digestive Health Associates while fulfilling the duties in her new position at Shore Regional. She will guide the center on issues such as compliance, level of care, length of stay, resource management, reimbursement, emergency department throughput, and more.
 

Business Moves

The Mount Sinai Health System and The New Jewish Home, both based in New York City, have extended their relationship to improve care of hospitalized patients who require specialized post-acute or long-term care at a skilled nursing facility. Through the Mount Sinai-New Jewish Home Hospitalist Program, Mount Sinai hospitalists will be charged with providing a seamless transition to The New Jewish Home for patients who need nursing care.

This model will buoy communication and ensure the sharing of vital information between the two venues, reducing the risk of rehospitalization.
 

Gryphon Investors, based in San Francisco, recently announced it will acquire OB Hospitalist Group, one of the nation’s leading providers of obstetric hospital medicine. The deal with OBHG’s current partner, Ares Management, was finalized in late July.

OBHG, based out of Mauldin, S.C., has a national network of more than 550 OB hospitalists, covering more than 120 hospitals in 28 states. OBHG’s hospitalist program features an obstetric emergency department, providing expectant mothers at partner hospitals with 24/7/365 access to medical care.
 

Envision Healthcare, based in Nashville, Tenn., and Greenwood Village, Colo., a provider of physician-led services and ambulatory surgery services, has acquired Milwaukee-based Infinity Healthcare. Infinity’s group-physician practice includes more than 340 physicians and providers delivering emergency and hospital medicine, anesthesia, and radiology services.

Three members of the hospital medicine community – Thiruvoipati Nanda Kumar, MD; Anthony Aghenta, MD, MS, FACP; and Angela Aboutalib, MD – recently were honored for their work by the International Association of HealthCare Professionals, earning spots in its publication, The Leading Physicians of the World.

Hospitalist and internist Dr. Nanda Kumar serves patients at Vibra Hospital in Redding, Calif., where he is also a clinical associate professor at the University of California at Davis. He is a member of both the Society of Hospital Medicine and the American Diabetes Association.

Dr. Aghenta is a 17-year veteran internist who currently serves as medical director for Coronado Healthcare Center in Phoenix. There, he also is affiliated with St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center. A member of SHM, Dr. Aghenta also has the title of Fellow of the American College of Physicians.

Dr. Aboutalib, whose experience as an internist includes expertise in hospital medicine, serves as hospitalist and medical director of clinical operations at U.S. Acute Care Solutions, Canton, Ohio. Previously, this member of the American College of Physicians served South Physicians as a hospitalist at Mercy Hospital in Chicago.
 

Andrew Dunn, MD, MPH, FACP, SFHM, recently was named chair-elect of the Board of Regents of the American College of Physicians (ACP), the national organization of internists. He assumed the role at the start of the ACP’s annual scientific meeting held in San Diego, March 30–April 1.

Susan Herson, MD, has been named the new chief of staff at the Bath, N.Y., Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Dr. Herson comes to Bath from the Sioux Falls (S.D.) VA, where she was a hospitalist, a hospitalist-clinician educator, and medical director of clinical documentation improvement, while also serving as clinical assistant professor for New York Medical College and medical director at Norwalk (Conn.) Hospital.

Dr. Herson served in the U.S. Navy, doing her training at Walter Reed Medical Center, Bethesda, Md. She was a general medical officer while stationed at U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, N.C.
 

Chad Whelan, MD, has been elevated to president of the Loyola (Ill.) University Medical Center, moving up from his chair as senior vice president and chief medical officer. This longtime hospitalist also serves as a professor of medicine in the Loyola Chicago Stritch School of Medicine.

Kevin Tulipana, DO, recently was promoted to medical director of hospital medicine at Cancer Treatment Centers of America’s Southwest Regional Medical Center in Tulsa, Okla. Previously, Dr. Tulipana was a hospitalist in the special care unit at CTCA Tulsa.

Mustafa Sardini, MD, has been named Envision Physician Services’ 2017 Hospital Medicine Physician of the Year. Dr. Sardini is the site medical director as Baylor Scott & White Medical Center, Sunnyvale, Texas. EPS presents the award to a hospitalist who peers deem as a leader in the industry.
 

Business moves

Physicians’ Alliance, (PAL) recently announced plans to partner with Penn State Health. As the largest independent physician group in Lancaster County, Pa., they will bring its more than 120 physicians, hospitalists, and dieticians to central Pennsylvania giant Penn State.

The alliance will allow patients of PAL physicians access to advanced care at Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and Penn State Children’s Hospital in Hershey.
 

Envision Healthcare, Greenwood Village, Colo. has created the Envision Physical Services (EPS) as a result of a merger with AmSurg ambulatory surgical center in December 2016. EPS combines EmCare and Sheridan Healthcare’s physician services divisions.

EPS specializes in hospital medicine, anesthesia, emergency medicine, radiology, and surgical services.

Three members of the hospital medicine community – Thiruvoipati Nanda Kumar, MD; Anthony Aghenta, MD, MS, FACP; and Angela Aboutalib, MD – recently were honored for their work by the International Association of HealthCare Professionals, earning spots in its publication, The Leading Physicians of the World.

Hospitalist and internist Dr. Nanda Kumar serves patients at Vibra Hospital in Redding, Calif., where he is also a clinical associate professor at the University of California at Davis. He is a member of both the Society of Hospital Medicine and the American Diabetes Association.

Dr. Aghenta is a 17-year veteran internist who currently serves as medical director for Coronado Healthcare Center in Phoenix. There, he also is affiliated with St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center. A member of SHM, Dr. Aghenta also has the title of Fellow of the American College of Physicians.

Dr. Aboutalib, whose experience as an internist includes expertise in hospital medicine, serves as hospitalist and medical director of clinical operations at U.S. Acute Care Solutions, Canton, Ohio. Previously, this member of the American College of Physicians served South Physicians as a hospitalist at Mercy Hospital in Chicago.
 

Andrew Dunn, MD, MPH, FACP, SFHM, recently was named chair-elect of the Board of Regents of the American College of Physicians (ACP), the national organization of internists. He assumed the role at the start of the ACP’s annual scientific meeting held in San Diego, March 30–April 1.

Susan Herson, MD, has been named the new chief of staff at the Bath, N.Y., Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Dr. Herson comes to Bath from the Sioux Falls (S.D.) VA, where she was a hospitalist, a hospitalist-clinician educator, and medical director of clinical documentation improvement, while also serving as clinical assistant professor for New York Medical College and medical director at Norwalk (Conn.) Hospital.

Dr. Herson served in the U.S. Navy, doing her training at Walter Reed Medical Center, Bethesda, Md. She was a general medical officer while stationed at U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, N.C.
 

Chad Whelan, MD, has been elevated to president of the Loyola (Ill.) University Medical Center, moving up from his chair as senior vice president and chief medical officer. This longtime hospitalist also serves as a professor of medicine in the Loyola Chicago Stritch School of Medicine.

Kevin Tulipana, DO, recently was promoted to medical director of hospital medicine at Cancer Treatment Centers of America’s Southwest Regional Medical Center in Tulsa, Okla. Previously, Dr. Tulipana was a hospitalist in the special care unit at CTCA Tulsa.

Mustafa Sardini, MD, has been named Envision Physician Services’ 2017 Hospital Medicine Physician of the Year. Dr. Sardini is the site medical director as Baylor Scott & White Medical Center, Sunnyvale, Texas. EPS presents the award to a hospitalist who peers deem as a leader in the industry.
 

Business moves

Physicians’ Alliance, (PAL) recently announced plans to partner with Penn State Health. As the largest independent physician group in Lancaster County, Pa., they will bring its more than 120 physicians, hospitalists, and dieticians to central Pennsylvania giant Penn State.

The alliance will allow patients of PAL physicians access to advanced care at Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and Penn State Children’s Hospital in Hershey.
 

Envision Healthcare, Greenwood Village, Colo. has created the Envision Physical Services (EPS) as a result of a merger with AmSurg ambulatory surgical center in December 2016. EPS combines EmCare and Sheridan Healthcare’s physician services divisions.

EPS specializes in hospital medicine, anesthesia, emergency medicine, radiology, and surgical services.

Three members of the hospital medicine community – Thiruvoipati Nanda Kumar, MD; Anthony Aghenta, MD, MS, FACP; and Angela Aboutalib, MD – recently were honored for their work by the International Association of HealthCare Professionals, earning spots in its publication, The Leading Physicians of the World.

Hospitalist and internist Dr. Nanda Kumar serves patients at Vibra Hospital in Redding, Calif., where he is also a clinical associate professor at the University of California at Davis. He is a member of both the Society of Hospital Medicine and the American Diabetes Association.

Dr. Aghenta is a 17-year veteran internist who currently serves as medical director for Coronado Healthcare Center in Phoenix. There, he also is affiliated with St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center. A member of SHM, Dr. Aghenta also has the title of Fellow of the American College of Physicians.

Dr. Aboutalib, whose experience as an internist includes expertise in hospital medicine, serves as hospitalist and medical director of clinical operations at U.S. Acute Care Solutions, Canton, Ohio. Previously, this member of the American College of Physicians served South Physicians as a hospitalist at Mercy Hospital in Chicago.
 

Andrew Dunn, MD, MPH, FACP, SFHM, recently was named chair-elect of the Board of Regents of the American College of Physicians (ACP), the national organization of internists. He assumed the role at the start of the ACP’s annual scientific meeting held in San Diego, March 30–April 1.

Susan Herson, MD, has been named the new chief of staff at the Bath, N.Y., Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Dr. Herson comes to Bath from the Sioux Falls (S.D.) VA, where she was a hospitalist, a hospitalist-clinician educator, and medical director of clinical documentation improvement, while also serving as clinical assistant professor for New York Medical College and medical director at Norwalk (Conn.) Hospital.

Dr. Herson served in the U.S. Navy, doing her training at Walter Reed Medical Center, Bethesda, Md. She was a general medical officer while stationed at U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, N.C.
 

Chad Whelan, MD, has been elevated to president of the Loyola (Ill.) University Medical Center, moving up from his chair as senior vice president and chief medical officer. This longtime hospitalist also serves as a professor of medicine in the Loyola Chicago Stritch School of Medicine.

Kevin Tulipana, DO, recently was promoted to medical director of hospital medicine at Cancer Treatment Centers of America’s Southwest Regional Medical Center in Tulsa, Okla. Previously, Dr. Tulipana was a hospitalist in the special care unit at CTCA Tulsa.

Mustafa Sardini, MD, has been named Envision Physician Services’ 2017 Hospital Medicine Physician of the Year. Dr. Sardini is the site medical director as Baylor Scott & White Medical Center, Sunnyvale, Texas. EPS presents the award to a hospitalist who peers deem as a leader in the industry.
 

Business moves

Physicians’ Alliance, (PAL) recently announced plans to partner with Penn State Health. As the largest independent physician group in Lancaster County, Pa., they will bring its more than 120 physicians, hospitalists, and dieticians to central Pennsylvania giant Penn State.

The alliance will allow patients of PAL physicians access to advanced care at Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and Penn State Children’s Hospital in Hershey.
 

Envision Healthcare, Greenwood Village, Colo. has created the Envision Physical Services (EPS) as a result of a merger with AmSurg ambulatory surgical center in December 2016. EPS combines EmCare and Sheridan Healthcare’s physician services divisions.

EPS specializes in hospital medicine, anesthesia, emergency medicine, radiology, and surgical services.