Naperville, Ill.-based Illinois Hospital Association has announced the appointment of its first Chief Health Officer: Jay Bhatt, DO. Dr. Bhatt's appointment came into effect today.
In this role, Dr. Bhatt will be responsible for providing the clinical leadership for IHA's Institute for Innovations in Care and Quality, organizing IHA's physician activities — including the Medical Executive Forum and Health Care System Physician Forum — and being a principal resource for the association's advocacy and transformation activities for its more than 200 hospital and nearly 50 health system members.
Prior to joining IHA, Dr. Bhatt served as the Department of Public Health's managing deputy commissioner and first chief strategy innovation officer. He is also an internist at the Erie Family Health Center in Chicago, a health system physician at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and adjunct clinical lecturer at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.