By Jody Crane, MD, MBA, TeamHealth Chief Medical Officer
TeamHealth is proud to recognize its 2020 Dr. Gar LaSalle Medical Directors of the Year, Advanced Practice Clinician (APC) of the Year, Regional Medical Director (RMD) of the Year and Vice President of Operations (VPO) of the Year. These leaders are honored for providing excellent service to our hospital partners and outstanding leadership to their clinical teams.
TeamHealth’s annual Medical Director of the Year program was established in 2002 by Dr. Gar LaSalle, the company’s first chief medical officer. As an innovative leader, Dr. LaSalle established a robust risk management program and leadership development training for clinical leaders.
This year, TeamHealth’s operating presidents selected 12 medical directors, one APC, one RMD and one VPO to be honored for leadership excellence. These honorees are representative of more than 800 medical directors and, overall, more than 16,000 healthcare professionals affiliated with TeamHealth.
The 2020 Dr. Gar LaSalle Medical Director of the Year honorees are:
- Matthew Blair, MD, Ambulatory Care, East Tennessee Children’s Hospital Urgent Care in Knoxville, Tennessee
- Deslyn S. Browne, MD, Specialty Hospitalist, OB/GYN, MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn, Illinois
- Philip M. Goldman, MD, LifePoint Group, Hospitalist Services, Fleming County Hospital in Flemingsburg, Kentucky
- David Johnson, MD, Northeast Group, Emergency Medicine, Mercy Health – St. Vincent Medical Center in Toledo, Ohio
- Nathaniel Kesner, DO, Southeast Group, Hospitalist Services, Piedmont Medical Center in Rock Hill, South Carolina
- Edward Lee, MD, West Group, Emergency Medicine, St. David’s North Austin Medical Center in Austin, Texas
- Gregg P. Lobel, MD, Anesthesiology, Englewood Health in Englewood, New Jersey
- Bruce Mazurek, MD, LifePoint Group, Emergency Medicine, Sovah Health in Danville and Martinsville, Virginia
- Sandeep Pulimi, MD, Northeast Group, Hospitalist Services, Mercy Hospital & Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois
- Radley Short, MD, Southeast Group, Emergency Medicine, Grand Strand Medical Center in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
- Kazi A. Zaman, MD, West Group, Hospitalist Services, St. David’s South Austin Medical Center in Austin, Texas
- Joseph Zucker, MD, Specialty Hospitalist, Orthopedic Surgery, Indiana University (IU) Health Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie, Indiana
The 2020 APC of the Year honoree is:
- Nicole Maciejewski, PA-C, Northeast Group, Lead APC, Mount St. Mary’s Hospital in Lewiston, New York, and Assistant Lead APC, Mercy Hospital of Buffalo in Buffalo, New York
The 2020 RMD of the Year honoree is:
- R. Preston Wendell, MD, MBA, Southeast Group, HCA South Atlantic Division at Trident Medical Center, Summerville Medical Center, Colleton Medical Center, Doctors Hospital of Augusta, Memorial Satilla Hospital, Fairview Park Hospital, Coliseum Medical Center and Coliseum Northside Hospital in South Carolina and Georgia
The 2020 VPO of the Year honoree is:
- Christy Lusk, RN, LifePoint Group facilities in Kentucky, Georgia, West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina
Annually, these honorees are recognized at the TeamHealth National Medical Leadership Conference, but unfortunately, with the conference’s cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we were unable to celebrate these exceptional leaders in person this year.
Please join us in congratulating all of these leaders for their valuable contributions and remarkable work to deliver better patient care, particularly during this unprecedented time in healthcare.