Physician Leader Profiles

Tareq Al Hamdan, MD, MBA
2008 Graduate
Emergency Medicine
Emergentologist & Disaster Medicine Specialist
Saudi Aramco
Ottawa, ON


Dr. Al Hamdan is an emergentologist working for Saudi Aramco Oil Company. He obtained his medical degree in 1999 from King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and he completed his residency training in emergency medicine at the University of Ottawa Royal College program. During his residency training Dr. Al Hamdan obtained a master's degree in disaster medicine from the University of Piedmont in Novara, Italy.

Robert Sookochoff, MD, MBA
2008 Graduate
Family Medicine
Regional Vice President
Ministry Regional Group
Eagle River, WI


Dr. Sookochoff has been a family practice physician since 1981. He trained in Canada and practiced in Ontario for five years before moving to the United States. He has worked in multiple practice models including solo practice, small group practice and for the last 14 years at Ministry Medical Group (MMG), a 180-clinician multispecialty group practice in north central Wisconsin. In 2003, he started a part-time medical director role with Ministry Medical Group serving as satellite medical director in the northern region of Ministry Medical Group's service area. In October 2006, his medical director duties expanded to that of service line medical director for primary care throughout Ministry Medical Group. He feels strongly that for medical organizations to be successful in the future strong physician leadership will be necessary and it is no longer acceptable for physicians to confine their expertise to medical topics alone. Physicians need additional tools to aid in the construction of innovative care systems that focus on bringing value to the patient through cost-efficient, high-quality, and safe care. He was attracted to the highly regarded PEMBA program at the University of Tennessee to improve his knowledge of the business of medicine and realize these goals.

Thomas O'Malley, Jr., MD, MBA
2008 Graduate
Ophthalmology
Ophthalmologist
Ministry Medical Group
Stevens Point, WI


Dr. O'Malley received his medical degree from Rutgers Medical School in 1988. After completing a residency in Ophthalmology at the Wake Forest University Eye Center in 1992, he returned to his hometown, Stevens Point in Wisconsin. He joined the Rice Medical Center that was later acquired by Ministry Medical Group, a multi-site, specialty group practice serving central and northern Wisconsin. During his ophthalmic career, he developed several services such as small incision cataract surgery, retinal laser surgery, and refractive laser vision correction. He redesigned patient flow for his ophthalmic practice, improving patient access and service, as well as practice efficiency. In October 2006, he left his practice for a newly created position, leading all specialty clinicians throughout Ministry Medical Group. Dr. O'Malley and his wife of 23 years have two teenage daughters. In his spare time, he enjoys swimming, running, and bicycling. Committed to life-long learning, he believes that the greatest challenges and opportunities for the health care industry in the coming years lie in the development of new systems of care that improve access, quality, and safety. He believes that the successful systems will be physician led and that the University of Tennessee PEMBA program will help him understand the science of health care delivery and acquire the skills needed to lead in a modern health care environment.

Peter Sanderson, MD, MBA
2008 Graduate
Family Medicine
Director of Medical Informatics Operations
Ministry Health Care
Plover, WI


Dr. Sanderson graduated from the Medical College of Georgia and was in the first graduating class of the Fox Valley Family Practice Residency Program in Appleton, Wisconsin. He was the founding and managing partner of Plover Family Practice and was responsible for implementing one of the first electronic medical records in Wisconsin during 1989. After this practice was acquired by Ministry Health Care in 1996, he oversaw the development of family practice centers in rural central Wisconsin. Dr. Sanderson became part of the Rice Clinic (a 70-clinician, multi-specialty clinic in Stevens Point, Wisconsin) Department of Family Practice after the clinic was acquired by Ministry Health Care and eventually became president of the clinic. As president, he redesigned the budget process and pushed for integration with both Ministry's local hospital unit and other recently acquired physician groups. After a number of physician groups were consolidated into Ministry Medical Group, Dr. Sanderson was named Ministry's director of medical informatics Operations and was given the task of bringing a single Electronic Health Record to Ministry Health Care's 400 clinicians located throughout northern Wisconsin.

Ahmad Al-Alou, MD, MBA
2008 Graduate
Internal Medicine
Medical Director
Pacific Medical Center
Saipan, MP


Dr. Al-Alou is an internist and the medical director of his group on the Island of Saipan. He completed his medical degree at Universidad Tecnologica de Santiago in Santo Domingo and his internal medicine residency at St. Francis Medical Center in Trenton, New Jersey. He was enrolled in the PEMBA program to gain academic knowledge in management, be a better physician leader, have better communication skills, and acquire deep knowledge in healthcare economics and corporate finance.

Michael Doss, MD, MBA
2008 Graduate
Anesthesiology
Consultant
Director of Pain Medicine
Wayne, NJ


Dr. Doss completed his internal medicine residency at Seton Hall School of Graduate Medical Education at South Orange, New Jersey and his anesthesia residency at the Albert Einstein Hospital in Bronx, New York and at the Cleveland Clinic, Ohio, where he also trained in pain management. He served as Director of Pain Management and as the Director of Perioperative Medicine in Ashtabula Hospital and Medical Center before joining the team of Pain Management Physicians at Advanced Interventional Pain Management. Dr. Doss served as the Director of Pain Management from 2004-2006 at Passaic Beth Israel Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Passaic, New Jersey. Currently, he serves as the Medical Director of Pain Management at AIPM. Dr. Doss is board-certified in pain medicine, internal medicine, and anesthesiology.

Benson Babu, MD, MBA
2008 Graduate
Internal Medicine
Surgical Resident
University of Stonybrook
Syosset, NY


Dr. Babu began his career at the University of Debrecen, Medical and Health Science Center in Hungary. After completing his medical degree, he trained in General Surgery and Internal Medicine at SUNY Stonybrook and the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. Dr. Babu believes The University of Tennessee Physician Executive MBA serves to bridge the gap between academic medicine and business. Furthermore, he seeks to develop a strong collegial network of medical professionals.

Jacqueline Do, MD, MBA
2008 Graduate
Internal Medicine
President
Jacqueline T. Do, MD, PC
Corona, CA


Dr. Do graduated from the University of California, Irvine in 1986. Before entering medical school, she completed one year of basic research in neuroscience at the University of California. In 1991, she received her medical doctorate degree from the UCLA School of Medicine. She fulfilled her residency in internal medicine at the UCI Medical Center. Dr. Do believes PEMBA will give her the business fundamentals that she needs to overcome current and future challenges possibly opening doors to other leadership positions in the health care system.

Ray Bahado-Singh, MD, MBA
2008 Graduate
OB/GYN
Vice Chairman
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Grosse Pointe Shores, MI


Dr. Bahado-Singh is an OB/GYN with subspecialty training in maternal-fetal medicine, diagnostic ultrasound, and genetics. After residency training at New York Medical College-Metropolitan Hospital, he underwent Fellowship training at the University of California at Irvine and Yale University. Professional experience includes faculty member, acting division director of maternal-fetal medicine, and residency program director at Yale University. He also served as director of the division of fetal imaging and associate director of fetal therapeutics (surgery) at the University of Cincinnati. Currently Dr Bahado-Singh serves as the associate chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and director of the Division of Fetal Imaging at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. Dr Bahado-Singh's research interests include the genetic basis of common birth defects.

Kyriakos Tsalamandris, MD, MBA
2008 Graduate
Emergency Medicine
Staff Physician
Emergency Medicinal Specialists
St. Clair Shores, MI


Dr. Tsalamandris was born and raised in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. He completed his bachelor of science in biology at the University of Windsor and then completed his medical degree at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. He received his specialty degree in emergency medicine from St. John Hospital and Medical Center in Detroit in 1998. He remained in the area and practiced for a group that covered multiple-hospitals environments from suburban to the inter-city areas. Dr. Tsalamandris also spent time practicing medicine in Hawaii to experience island medicine. He hopes that PEMBA will provide the tools necessary to understand and compete in the ever-evolving world of health care.

Adam Ravin, MD, MBA
2008 Graduate
Plastic Surgery
Owner / Manager
Lake Norman Plastic Surgery, PLLC
Cornelius, NC


Dr. Ravin is currently a private practice plastic surgeon in the Lake Norman area north of Charlotte, North Carolina. He attended Vanderbilt University for his undergraduate studies and then completed medical school as well as his plastic surgery residency training at Duke University. During his training he spent an additional six months at the Christine M. Kleinert Institute for Hand and Microsurgery in Louisville, Kentucky. Dr. Ravin hopes that in the near term the PEMBA program will improve his business acumen to more efficiently run his practice. He understands that despite years of medical training, physicians generally have very little business experience or financial knowledge. In addition, Dr. Ravin is hopeful that his PEMBA education may facilitate an eventual transition into healthcare administration.

Serge Dumay, MD, MBA
2008 Graduate
Internal Medicine
Chairman, Department of Medicine
Bergen Regional Medical Center
Paramus, NJ


Dr. Dumay completed his bachelor of science in chemistry at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York. He worked as a clinical chemist for a year before going to medical school. He received his medical degree from the School of Medicine of The Universidad Central del Caribe in Puerto Rico. He completed his residency in internal medicine and a pulmonary fellowship at Bergen Pines County Hospital in Paramus, New Jersey. Dr. Dumay has worked in various inpatient and outpatient settings and held multiple leadership positions. He was chairman of the Emergency Department at Kennedy Memorial Hospital, Saddle Brook, New Jersey for six years. He served as chairman of the Department of internal medicine at Bergen Regional Medical Center in Paramus, New Jersey for five years. He enjoys teaching medical students and residents, and received the Physician of the Year Award in 1990 and 2007. He is member of the Board of Trustees of the Bergen County Medical Society and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Bergen Regional Medical Center Foundation. Dr. Dumay has maintained a private practice in pulmonary medicine for the past 18 years. In what he considers spare time, he likes downhill skiing in the winter and bicycle riding in the summer. He hopes that the PEMBA program will give him a deeper understanding of the business side of health care and facilitate a smoother transition into the comprehensive aspects of medicine.

Marianna Spanaki-Varelas, MD, PhD, MBA
2008 Graduate
Neurology
Senior Staff NeurologistDirector Inpatient Epilepsy Unit
Henry Ford Health System
West Bloomfield, MI


Dr. Spanaki is a senior staff neurologist at Henry Ford Health Systems and associate professor of neurology at Wayne State University, both in Detroit, Michigan. Dr. Spanaki practices neurology with an emphasis in epilepsy. She has presented at national and international conferences and has authored or co-authored a number of scientific papers, mainly in the field of epilepsy. Dr. Spanaki organizes an annual symposium on women's issues in neurological disorders. She has a leadership position in the Clinical Neurophysiology program, particularly in the development of the program's curriculum. She participated in the Henry Ford Leadership Academy and is a member of the planning committee of the Wellness Center at West Bloomfield Hospital.

Tarek Karaman, MD, MBA
2008 Graduate
Internal Medicine
Lead HospitalistHospitalist Section Chief
Advocate Medical Group
Lincolnwood, IL


Dr. Karaman received his premedical education at the University of Louvain in Brussels, Belgium, and his medical degree at the University of Tel-Aviv in Israel. He completed his internal medicine residency at the University of Illinois in Chicago. In 1997 he joined Advocate Health Centers as a hospitalist and in 1999 he became a lead hospitalist. Currently Dr. Karaman is an assistant professor of internal medicine at the University of Illinois, Chicago. He is the president of the Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM) Chicago Chapter and the section chief of Hospital Medicine at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center. Dr. Karaman joined the PEMBA program to expand his skills and knowledge in management and leadership.

Belinda Miller Topa, MD, MBA
2008 Graduate
Pediatrics
Sports Medicine Physician
Henry Ford Health System
Howell, MI


Dr. Miller-Topa completed her undergraduate work at the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph, Minnesota. She attended The University of Iowa College of Medicine, graduating in 1995. Dr. Miller completed her residency and fellowship training with Michigan State University/Kalamazoo Center for Medical Studies. She is board certified in pediatrics, with a CAQ in sports medicine and a certificate in women's health. She is the physician owner of Red Cedar Valley Medicine, PLC. This practice is set up as a Pediatric Urgent Care, Sports Medicine & Travel Clinic in East Lansing, Michigan. She also has an independent medical aesthetics practice called the Right Light Medical Center. She currently resides in Howell, Michigan with her husband, infant daughter, and cat. She holds a Physician Executive MBA from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.

Steven Mehta, MD, MBA
2008 Graduate
Cardiology
Arizona Governor of the American College of CardiologyMedical Director of the Heart Center of Northeastern Arizona
Heart Center of Northeastern Arizona
Show Low, AZ


Dr. Mehta obtained his undergraduate degree from Kent State University in Kent, Ohio and his Medical Degree from the Northeastern Ohio University College of Medicine. During his career as an interventional cardiologist, Dr. Mehta has been involved in clinical research. He has taught and lectured internationally. While in private practice in the metro Phoenix area, he served as the chairman of cardiology and director of the cardiac catheterization laboratories at the Thunderbird Samaritan Medical Center, in Glendale, Arizona. Currently, Dr. Mehta serves as the Arizona Governor of the American College of Cardiology. In 2003, Dr. Mehta founded the Heart Institute of Northeastern Arizona-a privately owned medical facility designed to bring interventional cardiovascular services to rural Arizona. Now in its fourth year of operation, the Heart Center has developed into a successful model that may be extrapolated to other rural markets. Dr. Mehta anticipates that furthering his formal business education will bring valuable experience to his consulting company, Axiom Lifesystems Development Group.

David Wells, MD, MBA
2008 Graduate
Surgery
Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery
Carilion Clinic
Roanoke, VA


Dr. Wells graduated from the University of Alabama School of Medicine in 1980. He did both his general surgery and thoracic & cardiovascular surgery residencies at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. After completion of his training, he and his family moved to Roanoke, Virginia, and he joined Cardiovascular Surgical Associates in 1987. He has been very active in the clinical practice of Cardiovascular Surgery since his arrival in Roanoke. A shift in his focus has developed since 2000, when he became the managing partner of his seven-member group. In 2006, he successfully navigated the merger and integration of CVSA into Carilion Health Systems. As section chief of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, his administrative and managerial skills have continued to grow. Both of his sons work in the financial markets, and he has learned from them that a different skill set is necessary to be successful in today's complex business environment. Dr. Wells viewed PEMBA as an opportunity to grow and develop these skill sets and thus allow a transition from a clinical role to an administrative/executive role.

Donald Shields, MD, PhD, MBA
2008 Graduate
Neurological Surgery
Assistant Professor
George Washington University Medical Center
Bethesda, MD


After completion of medical scientist training at the Medical University of South Carolina in 2000, Dr. Shields did his neurosurgery residency at UCLA Medical Center. During this time, he became interested in functional neurosurgery, and served as a director of GlobalNeuroRescue, an international medical missions organization. Dr. Shields later began fellowship training in functional neurosurgery at Massachusetts General Hospital in 2006, and he founded 4ALife foundation in order to support international medical mission development. DR. Shields believes that the ability to translate concepts in the rapidly expanding field of functional neurosurgery from the bench to bedside can be significantly enhanced with graduate training in business administration. He plans to develop a corporate partnership that can effectively develop innovative concepts for functional neurosurgery and provide financial support for international medical missions.

Charles Trentham, MD, MBA
2008 Graduate
Anesthesiology
Medical Director
Angel Medical Center
Franklin, NC


Dr. Trentham practices anesthesiology in Franklin, North Carolina, where he is director of anesthesia and vice chief of medical staff at Angel Medical Center. PEMBA is his third degree from the University of Tennessee; he obtained his bachelor of arts from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and his medical degree from UTHSC. Board-certified in both pediatrics and anesthesiology, Dr. Trentham completed a pediatric residency at the University of Colorado, an anesthesiology residency at the University of Florida, and a pediatric anesthesia fellowship at the Children's Hospital in Denver, Colorado. Currently, Dr. Trentham serves as regional medical officer for Clinical Colleagues, Inc., an anesthesia service provider. From his PEMBA studies, he hopes to obtain acumen in business matters that will serve him in both management and consultant roles.

Don Bouchard, DO, MBA
2008 Graduate
Pediatrics
Physician
Private Practice Pediatrics
Lawton, MI


Dr. Bouchard grew up in rural Maine and completed his undergraduate studies in zoology at the University of Maine in Orono. He earned his Doctorate of Osteopathic Medicine degree from the University of New England in Biddeford, Maine. Dr. Bouchard completed his Pediatric Residency from Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan. After residency, Dr. Bouchard practiced in Grand Rapids, Michigan for 12 years. He is currently the medical director of a provider-based Rural Health Center in Dowagiac, Michigan. This health care system, which includes a critical access hospital and three clinics, services the residents of Cass County with comprehensive medical care.

Nestor Esnaola, MD, MPH, MBA
2008 Graduate
Surgery
Associate Professor and Medical Director for Surgical Quality and Safety
Medical University of South Carolina
Charleston, SC


Dr. Esnaola is an assistant professor in the Section of Surgical Oncology/Department of Surgery at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in Charleston, South Carolina. He graduated from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and completed a general surgery residency at the Brigham and Women's Hospital/Harvard Medical School. He also obtained a master's in public health at the Harvard School of Public Health. Dr. Esnaola completed a surgical oncology fellowship at the U.T. MD Anderson Cancer Center and currently specializes in hepatobiliary, pancreatic, and colorectal surgery. At the Medical University of South Carolina he serves as medical director for surgical quality and safety as well as medical director for quality for the Hollings Cancer Center. Dr. Esnaola hopes that the skills he acquires in the PEMBA Program will prepare him to become a more efficient clinician-administrator and allow him to more creatively address the sometimes conflicting missions facing academic medical organizations.

Akash Ghai, MD, MBA
2008 Graduate
Cardiology
Cardiologist
Southern Medical Group
Tallahassee, FL


Dr. Ghai is an adult cardiologist and assistant clinical professor of medicine at Florida State University who practices at Southern Medical Group, a private practice in Tallahassee, Florida. After graduating with a bachelor of arts degree from McMaster University in Canada he completed his medical degree at the University of Toronto, Canada. He then pursued training in internal medicine at the same institution followed by a fellowship in adult cardiology at Columbia University in New York City. He then completed further specialization in cardiovascular CT at Cabrini Medical Center in New York City. He currently heads the cardiac imaging department at Southern Medical Group. Dr. Ghai hopes that pursuing this MBA will give him the right skills to become a better physician leader and make better business decisions for his group

Takeo Tedoriya, MD, PhD, MBA
2008 Graduate
Cardiology
Director and Professor
Showa University Northern
Tokyo,


Dr. Tedoriya studied general and cardiovascular surgery at one of the oldest medical universities in Japan. He then had clinical experiences in Berlin, Germany for about four years. He also had a clinical experience in the heart lung transplantation unit in Sydney, Australia for about one year. Thereafter, he worked at two different medical university hospitals in Japan. His roles involved teaching students and young surgeons to understand the advantages and disadvantages of education systems in each country, including Japan. Currently, he holds a position of professor of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery at Showa University in Japan. He believes it is a very useful and important experience for him to manage a cardiac surgical team. Dr. Tedoriya believes the Japanese medical system has been suffering for a number of years and is only getting worse. When faced with government decisions to shrink the budget for medical services while still maintaining a safety net for medical affairs, it becomes time to reconsider the whole medical system and introduce the rationalization and improvement of the hospital distribution system. Dr. Tedoriya believes PEMBA will help him create a new system of clinical and educational hospitals that accommodate the culture in Japan. In that sense, he would like to become a real leader who can offer learning to young people with noble ambitions to be cardiac surgeons.

Edward Deutscher, MD, MBA
2008 Graduate
Ophthalmology
Opthamologist
Private Practice
Safety Harbor, FL


After obtaining a bachelor of arts degree from Hobart College, Dr. Deutscher graduated from the Free University of Brussels in Belgium. The next step was a medical degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City. Following an internship at Beth Israel in New York City, he completed his residency at The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary. He is optimistic that PEMBA will provide the leadership skills necessary to contribute to the management of his clinic as it faces future challenges in the delivery of health care. Dr. Deutscher is President and Chief Executive Officer of Healthcare Management Alliance, LLC, in Tampa, Florida.

Gary Carter, MD, MA, MBA
2008 Graduate
Emergency Medicine
Emergency Physician,Emergency Department Medical Director
North Kansas City Hospital
Kansas City, MO


Dr. Carter attended Northwest Missouri State University, followed by four years at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine. He completed an emergency medicine residency at the University of Louisville in 1987. Dr. Carter has been Medical Director of Emergency Medicine at North Kansas City Hospital since 1991. Upon completion of his MBA in 2008, he assumed additional responsibilities as the medical director of quality. Dr. Carter is also involved in health care consulting through a new company (Healthcare Management Alliance) formed by former PEMBA students.

Zandra Petway, MD, MPH, MBA
2008 Graduate
Family Medicine
President
Christian Family Medical Clinic
Brentwood, TN


Dr. Petway, a native of Nashville, Tennessee and graduate of Meharry Medical College, is the president and owner of Christian Family Medical Clinic, a chain of four family practice medical clinics in the Nashville area. Dr. Petway holds a master's degree in public health from Meharry Medical College and a bachelor's degree in biology from Tennessee State University. Since 2000 she has been in private practice and operates the four clinics by hiring other physicians and nurse practitioners. Dr. Petway chose to enroll in the Physician Executive MBA program to gain valuable business skills in order to help better manage her chain of medical clinics.

Jeffrey MacMillan, MD, MBA
2008 Graduate
Orthopedic Surgeon
Physician and Owner
Jeffrey T. MacMillian, MD, PA
Leawood, KS


Dr. Macmillan was raised in western Canada. He earned an undergraduate degree in The Comparative Study of Religion from Harvard and his medical degree from The University of Pennsylvania. He completed a general surgery internship and an orthopedic pathology fellowship at The Graduate Hospital in Philadelphia, prior to an orthopedic residency and spine fellowship at The University of Pittsburgh. He began his private practice in Los Angeles shortly after the Rodney King riots, and moved it to safer ground in Kansas City following the Northridge Earthquake. He foresees similar seismic changes in health care and envisions using his experience in the PEMBA program to help ensure the economic viability of his practice in the years to come.

Kit McCalla, DO, MBA
2008 Graduate
Orthopedic Surgeon
Health Care Policy Fellow
Arizona College of Orthopedic Surgeons, PLC
Glendale, AZ


Dr. McCalla is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon in Phoenix, Arizona. He is passionate about healthcare, ethics, and the public policy debate in America. Like many health care providers, he never dreamed the life of a physician would be so consumed with politics, greed, and inequity. While practicing medicine in Arizona, Dr. McCalla is doing what relatively small numbers of his peers usually do; he has volunteered to make a difference by getting involved. He completed his Fellowship training in health care policy in 2006. He serves as a board member of the Arizona Osteopathic Medical Association Board of Trustees and on the American Osteopathic Association Bureau of Insurance.

Norman Chapin, MD, MBA
2008 Graduate
Emergency Medicine
Medical Director and COO
Emergency Treatment Associates
Purling, NY


Dr. Chapin received his medical degree in 1982 from Michigan State University, College of Human Medicine. Following his graduation he was accepted into the family practice residency at Midland Hospital Center in Midland, Michigan. Assuming the role as medical director renewed Dr. Chapin's desire to become more knowledgeable regarding the business of health care. He is very excited about embarking on this new direction in his career and becoming part of a group of fellow physicians seeking to improve themselves through this program.

Howard Lee, MD, MBA
2008 Graduate
Nephrology
Chief of Nephrology
Kaiser Permanente Riverside Medical Center
Yorba Linda, CA


Dr. Lee currently serves as the division chief of nephrology at Kaiser Permanente Riverside Medical Center. He completed his medical school training at Western University of Health Sciences, followed by an internal medicine residency and nephrology fellowship at Hahnemann University Hospital of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After finishing his chief fellowship, he joined Southern California Permanente Medical Group and assumed the position of division leader, involved in quality management and the administrative aspects of medicine. The Physician Executive MBA program would be the logical next step toward acquiring the knowledge and skills for effective patient care delivery in the complex health care environment.

Setul Patel, MD, MBA
2008 Graduate
Emergency Medicine
Physician
Greater Houston Emergency Physicians
Pearland, TX


Dr. Patel completed his bachelor of science in biochemistry and his doctor of medicine at the University of Virginia. In 2006, he completed his residency training and service as chief resident in emergency medicine at the Christiana Care Health System/Medical Center of Delaware. He is now an attending physician and partner with Greater Houston Emergency Physicians. He also serves as the associate director of the Pearland Emergency Center in Pearland, Texas. Dr. Patel also does independent contractor work through his own company and seeks to expand these services in multiple ways. Through the University of Tennessee PEMBA program, Dr. Patel wishes to augment his clinical practice and expand the practice of Emergency Medicine into more markets and newer sectors. He seeks to acquire further leadership skills to successfully navigate the medical system and continually improve the quality and efficiency of care delivered. Understanding the networking potential and caliber of his classmates, he also wants to make new friendships and connections that will empower all parties to achieve their goals.

Herbert Ho, MD, MBA
2008 Graduate
Anesthesiology
Administrator and CEO
Advanced Medical Center
El Monte, CA


Dr. Ho is a family physician from Los Angeles, California. He began his career as a veterinarian following graduation from the University of Saskatchewan. Called to the healing arts, he earned his medical doctorate from the American University. He completed residencies in family medicine and anesthesiology; he is a fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians. Dr. Ho has served as a commissioner for several economic and business trade development initiatives with China on behalf of the state of California. As president and chief executive officer for five adult day health care centers in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, Dr. Ho leads each of the centers in the provision of skilled nursing care, social services, physical and occupational therapies, nutritional counseling, and transportation service for over 450 elderly patients at each center. Dr. Ho joined the PEMBA program to learn about new opportunities the MBA will afford him.

Clarissa Lawrence, MD, MBA
2008 Graduate
Pediatrics
Clinician
Eastern Carolina Pediatrics, PA
Wilson, NC


Dr. Lawrence is a pediatrician with 14 years of experience in a general pediatrics private group practice in Wilson, North Carolina. As Wilson's only pediatrics group, Eastern Carolina Pediatrics provides care both within the office and the hospital (Wilson Medical Center). In 2004, Eastern Carolina Pediatrics participated in a quality improvement collaborative involving open access scheduling and office efficiency. Dr. Lawrence was the physician champion for Eastern Carolina Pediatrics' involvement in the collaborative. From there, she became involved in the medical staff, restarting the quality improvement and patient safety committee. In 2007, she participated in the IHI Quality Improvement Advisor (IA Wave 5) program. This proved life changing; she is now working towards quality improvement as a career focus. The leadership and management training of PEMBA are both necessary for the next step of her career. Receiving this MBA will place her in a better position to obtain the career she wants, and the training obtained will help her perform her best when she gets there.

Patti Paris, MD, MBA
2008 Graduate
Emergency Medicine
Emergency Medicine Physician
Alaska Native Medical Center
Anchorage, AK


Dr. Paris, is an emergency medicine physician practicing at Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage Alaska. She received her undergraduate and graduate degrees at the University of Maine system and then attended the University of Vermont College of Medicine, graduating in 1995. Dr. Paris was an Indian Health Service scholar and after completing her residency, she started working at the tribally owned Alaska Native Medical Center for her scholarship payback. After four years, she returned to her home in Maine for a year and then worked as part of the medical staff at McMurdo Base Station in Antarctica for a season. The Indian Health Service in Alaska had turned out to be a good fit for Dr. Paris and her husband Dan and they returned there in 2005. The Indian Health Services and the tribally owned health system are evolving rapidly and Dr. Paris would like her MBA to give her the tools of leadership and business to be part of that growth.

Jairy Hunter, III, MD, MBA
2008 Graduate
Family Medicine
Medical Director
Coastal Inpatient Physicians
Columbia, TN


This is a physician profile.

Susan Dobbs Curling, MD, MBA
2008 Graduate
Anesthesiology
President
North Houston Anesthesiologists
Humble, TX


Dr. Curling founded and has managed North Houston Anesthesiologists since 1991. A graduate of the University of Texas in Austin, the University of Texas Medical School in Houston, and a fellowship in Cardiothoracic Anesthesia at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, Dr. Curling has directed the development of several anesthesia departments, including Kingwood Medical Center Hospital, Renaissance Surgical Center, and Memorial Hermann Specialty Hospital at Kingwood. Beyond the local community, Dr. Curling has served as President of the Harris County Medical Society, and as a delegate to the America Society of Anesthesiologists. She currently serves as the vice-speaker of the Texas Society of Anesthesiologists. After taking a certificate of business administration course, Dr. Curling realizes how much more there is to learn. She has a desire to serve and make projects more successful. She hopes the PEMBA program can improve her abilities to do so and open doors to yet undiscovered career opportunities, perhaps even of an international flavor.

William Durkin, Jr., MD, MBA
2008 Graduate
Emergency Medicine
PresidentSecretary / Treasurer
William T. Durkin, Jr., M.D., Inc / American Academy of Emergenc
Alexandria, VA


Dr. Durkin is a board-certified emergency physician. He completed his undergraduate work at Georgetown University majoring in biology with a minor in theology. He then went to medical school at Georgetown. After completing an internship in general surgery at Georgetown University Medical Center, he returned to his native New England to do two years of general surgery at the Harvard Surgical Service. Rather than spend a year or two in the lab, he elected to fulfill his military obligation. He spent a year as a medical officer aboard a ship and then two years as staff in the emergency department of the Naval Hospital in San Diego. Here he decided to continue in the field of emergency medicine and successfully passed the boards after leaving the Navy. Over the next several years Dr. Durkin served as QA/QI director, assistant director, and medical director of various emergency departments. He has also been involved nationally marketing a quality assurance program for emergency medicine. Dr. Durkin has been active in the American Academy of Emergency Medicine since its founding, serving on the board of directors for three terms and as secretary treasurer. He feels that participating in the PEMBA program will increase his business knowledge and better prepare him to be an outstanding health care executive/entrepreneur.

Stephen Berman, MD, PhD, MBA
2008 Graduate
Neurology
Chief of Neurology
VAMC White River Junction
Hanover, NH


Dr. Berman is a neurologist and neurobiologist at Dartmouth Medical School. He currently is a professor of medicine (neurology) at Dartmouth and is chief of the neurology service at the White River Junction, Virginia. Dr. Berman believes that the tools and methods he will learn in the Physician Executive MBA program will be as useful in a government environment as they are in the private sector.

Jeanette Abell, MD, MBA
2008 Graduate
Internal Medicine
President
Hospital Physicians of Ohio
Columbus, OH


Dr. Abell is the Regional Director, Central Division for Hospitalists Management Group (HMG). She has administrative and clinical responsibility for operations at Hospitalists Management Group 's Ohio locations. She works collaboratively with the president, chief executive officer, and the chief medical officer to facilitate and implement medical and operational improvement changes. Dr. Abell joined Hospitalists Management Group as regional director in February 2006. Since 1993, Dr. Abell's experience as a hospitalist has included serving as co-creator and president of the first strictly hospitalist service at Riverside Methodist Hospital and the merger of two hospitalist practices to create a large inpatient service. Dr. Abell is board-certified in internal medicine. After receiving her doctorate of medicine at Wright State University, she completed her residency in internal medicine at Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.