20 Physician Leaders of Hospitals to Know

Denis A. Cortese, MD. Dr. Cortese is president and CEO of Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. He received his medical training from Temple University in Philadelphia. He is a diplomate for the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Board of Internal Medicine — Pulmonary Disease. His professional interests include therapeutic endoscopy techniques including YAG laser therapy, photodynamic therapy, endoscopic brachy-therapy and the use of endoscopic stents. Dr. Cortese has a longstanding interest in health policy and healthcare delivery. His memberships include the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, the Roundtable on Evidence Based Medicine, Healthcare Leadership Council, Harvard/Kennedy Healthcare Policy Group, Division on Engineering and Physical Science and the National Research Council. Dr. Cortese will be retiring in Nov. 2009.

Delos M. "Toby" Cosgrove, MD. Dr. Cosgrove is president and CEO of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, which is comprised of the Cleveland Clinic, nine community hospitals, 14 family health centers and ASCs, Cleveland Clinic Florida, Cleveland Clinic Toronto and the developing Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. He was named chairman of the Cleveland Clinic's Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery in 1989. Dr. Cosgrove has filed 30 patents for developing medical and clinical products used in surgical environments. He is a member of 16 scientific societies including the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, the American College of Surgeons, the American Heart Association and the American Association of Thoracic Surgery, for which he served as president in 2000. He has published nearly 450 journal articles, book chapters, one book and 17 training and CME films.

Joseph Golbus, MD. Dr. Golbus is president of the NorthShore University HealthSystem Medical Group and assistant professor of medicine at the Northwestern University Medical School in Evanston, Ill. He earned his medical degree from the University of Illinois Abraham Lincoln School of Medicine. He completed an internal medicine residency at Evanston Hospital and was a fellow in the Rockham Arthritis Research Unit, Division of Rheumatology, at the University of Michigan.

Larry J. Goodman, MD. Dr. Goodman is president and CEO of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. Prior to being named president and CEO, Dr. Goodman was senior vice president for medical affairs at Rush and the Henry R. Russe Dean of Rush Medical College. He is also a professor of medicine at the college. Before accepting the position of senior vice president in 1998, he was medical director of Cook County Hospital. During this time, he also served as professor of medicine and associate dean of Rush Medical College. Dr. Goodman received his medical degree from the University of Michigan Medical School. He completed his residency at Rush University Medical Center in internal medicine and was named chief resident. He completed a fellowship in infectious disease also at Rush.

Gary L. Gottlieb, MD. Dr. Gottlieb is president of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. He is also a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Gottlieb also focuses his attention on workforce development and disparities in healthcare. He was appointed by Mayor Thomas Menino as chairman of the city's workforce development board, which partners with education, labor, higher education, the community and government to provide oversight and leadership to public and private workforce development programs. In 2004-2005, he served as co-chair of the Mayor's Task Force to Eliminate Health Disparities. One of Dr. Gottlieb's personal objectives is to improve access to the best possible healthcare for everyone. In 2010, he will succeed James Mongan as president and CEO of Partners Health System in Boston.

John Koster, MD. Dr. Koster is president and CEO of Providence Health and Services in Seattle. He previously held primary responsibility for system operations since he joined Providence in 1997. Prior to Providence, Dr. Koster served as vice president for Targeted Member Services at VHA in Irving, Texas, and was vice president of Presbyterian Healthcare Services in Albuquerque, N.M. He was also senior vice president of Rocky Mountain Healthcare Corp. He is board certified in internal medicine and earned his medical degree from the University of New Mexico.

James L. Madara, MD. Dr. Madara is CEO of the University of Chicago Medical Center, dean of the Division of Biological Sciences, dean of Pritzker School of Medicine and vice president for Medical Affairs. During his first term, funding for the University from the National Institutes of Health increased by approximately 75 percent. He has overseen significant expansion of clinical and research space at the University, including the opening of Comer Children's Hospital and the Gordon Center for Integrative Science. Previously, he worked at Brigham and Women's Hospital and was director of the  Harvard Digestive Diseases Center. He has published considerable research on the cells that line the digestive tract and how these cells permit the absorption of nutrients while serving as a barrier to intestinal bacteria and help regulate the immune response to normal and disease-causing bacteria. This research has been crucial to understanding infectious diseases that affect the intestine, to treating inflammatory disorders such as ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease, and to improving drug delivery.

Stephen Newman, MD. Dr. Newman is COO and interim chief medical officer of Tenet Healthcare Corp., in Dallas, Texas. He is responsible for the operational oversight of Tenet's 52 acute care hospitals in 12 states, as well as ASCs and diagnostic imaging centers. He previously served as CEO for Tenet's California operations and implemented the company's Targeted Growth Initiative, which matched a hospital's current service offerings and growth plans against the future needs of its community. Prior to becoming a hospital administrator, Dr. Newman was a pediatric gastroenterologist for 12 years and was a professor of pediatrics and medicine at Wright State University School of Medicine in Dayton, Ohio, and was director of gastroenterology and nutrition support at Children's Medical Center. He also serves on the board of directors of the Federation of American Hospitals.

Nancy H. Nielsen, MD, PhD. Dr. Nielsen is president of the American Medical Association and is a clinical professor of medicine and senior associate dean for medical education at the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. She was speaker of the AMA House of Delegates, a delegate from New York and previously served two terms on the AMA Council on Scientific Affairs. Dr. Nielsen has served as a member of the National Patient Safety Foundation Board of Directors, the Commission for the Prevention of Youth Violence and the Task Force on Quality and Patient Safety. She is the AMA representative on many quality initiatives, including the National Quality Forum, the AMA Physician Consortium for Performance Improvement, the Ambulatory Care Quality Alliance and the Quality Alliance Steering Committee. She serves on the Institute of Medicine's Roundtable on Evidence-Based Medicine. Dr. Nielsen was speaker of the Medical Society of the State of New York House of Delegates and a member of the board of directors of the Medical Liability Mutual Insurance Company. She also was president of her county medical society and her hospital's medical staff. Dr. Nielsen holds a doctorate in microbiology and received her medical degree from SUNY at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. She was a member of the board of directors of Kaleida Health — a five-hospital system in western New York — and was chief medical officer of a large regional health plan in the Buffalo area.

Herbert Pardes, MD. Dr. Pardes is president and CEO of the New York Presbyterian Health Care System in New York, N.Y. He served as U.S. Assistant Surgeon General and was director of the National Institutes of Mental Health during the Carter and Reagan Administrations. He served as vice president for health sciences at Columbia University and dean of the faculty of medicine of Columbia's College of Physicians and Surgeons, positions he held while he was chairman of Columbia's Department of Psychiatry. He was the director of the Psychiatry Service at the Presbyterian Hospital and director of the New York State Psychiatric Institute. He served as chairman of the Association of American Medical Colleges and the AAMC's Council of Deans. He served two terms as chairman of the New York Association of Medical Schools. In 1997, he was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Pardes has served as chairman of the psychiatry departments at the State University of New York, Downstate, the University of Colorado Medical Center and Columbia. He served as president of the American Psychiatric Association for 1989-90 and as chairman of the APA's Council on Research. In 1986, he served as chairman of the Association of Chairmen of Departments of Psychiatry.

Patrick J. Quinlan, MD. Dr. Quinlan is CEO of Ochsner Health System in New Orleans and is responsible for all operations and strategic growth. He previously served as chief medical officer for Ochsner and was chief medical officer at Lovelace Health Systems in Albuquerque, N.M. Dr. Quinlan earned his BA in economics from the University of Texas at Austin and his medical degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. He completed his internship at Carraway Methodist Center in Birmingham, Ala., and a dermatology residency at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and is board certified in Dermatology. He earned a master's degree in health administration from the College of St. Francis in Albuquerque.

Prem Reddy, MD, FACC, FACP. Dr. Reddy is chairman and founder of Prime Healthcare Services in Victorville, Calif., which oversees 13 hospitals and three medical groups. He is board certified in both internal medicine and cardiology. During his 25 years serving the High Desert region of California, he has built several practices and hospitals from the ground up, including the Desert Valley Medical Group and Desert Valley Hospital. He is a fellow of the American College of Cardiologists and the American College of Physicians. Dr. Reddy is committed to serving his community and founded the Dr. Prem Reddy Family Fund, which is a nonprofit organization that serves the healthcare needs of the High Desert community, including a free public health library, a scholarship fund and support of other healthcare-related charities. In addition, Dr. Reddy is an active philanthropist and supports education and social services, donating time and money to both of these causes.

William Roper, MD, MPH. Dr. Roper is CEO and vice chancellor of medical affairs for the University of North Carolina Health Care System in Chapel Hill, N.C., and dean of the UNC School of Medicine. He also is professor of health policy and administration in the School of Public Health and is professor of pediatrics in the School of Medicine at UNC. Prior to joining UNC, Dr. Roper was vice president of Prudential HealthCare, director of the CDC, served on the senior White House staff and was administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration (responsible for Medicare and Medicaid), and was a White House fellow. Dr. Roper is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and a member of the board of trustees of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. He is a member of the board of directors of DaVita and Delhaize Group and is a member of the President’s Commission on White House Fellowships and the chairman of the board of directors of the National Quality Forum. Dr. Roper offers his advice and opinions on topics related to healthcare through his blog, Roper on Health.

Thomas Royer, MD. Dr. Royer is CEO and president of the CHRISTUS Health System in Irving, Texas, and leads day-to-day operations for CHRISTUS Health, lending extensive expertise in developing physician partnerships and community health programs within the company. Before joining CHRISTUS, Dr. Royer served as senior vice president of medical affairs and chairman of the board of governors of Henry Ford Medical Group. He served for two years at Johns Hopkins Medical Services Corporation and Wyman Park Medical Associates in Baltimore in a variety of positions, including CEO, president and COO and vice president of clinical operations. Dr. Royer, who is board certified in surgery, received his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania and completed his postdoctoral training at Geisinger Medical Center and Clinic.

David Shulkin, MD. Dr. Shulkin is president and CEO of Beth Israel Medical Center in New York, N.Y. He previously served in numerous physician leadership roles including the chief medical officer of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Temple University Hospital and the Medical College of Pennsylvania Hospital and was the chairman of medicine and vice dean at Drexel University School of Medicine. Dr. Shulkin founded and served as the chairman and CEO of DoctorQuality, one of the first consumer-orientated sources of information for quality and safety in healthcare. He has served on the editorial boards of numerous journals including the Journal of the American Medical Association. Dr. Shulkin recently published a book, Questions Patients Need to Ask, to better educate and empower patients.

Kendall L. Stewart, MD. Dr. Stewart is vice president of medical affairs and chief medical officer of Southern Ohio Medical Center and the president and CEO of SOMC Medical Care Foundation in Portsmouth, Ohio. He is a past president of the Ohio Psychiatric Association and teaches psychiatry at the Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Athens, Ohio. He also practices general adult psychiatry. Dr. Stewart has served on the boards of the Medical Group of Ohio, OhioHealth Group and the Ohio Partnership for Excellence. He completed his medical and psychiatric training at the Medical College of Georgia. He served as chief of the Mental Health Clinic at Ellsworth Air Force Base near Rapid City, S.D., before opening his private practice in Portsmouth. He completed his MBA at Ohio University.

"Dr. Stewart has done extensive work in molding physician behavior and managing misbehavior in a respectful manner," says Carol Fairchild, vice president of operations for the Ambulatory Surgical Centers of America. He is also the author of A Portable Memoir for Organizational Leaders.

Paul Summerside, MD, FAAEM, FACEP. Dr. Summerside is the chief medical officer of BayCare Clinic and president of Aurora BayCare Medical Center, both located in Green Bay, Wisc. He is also director of wellness at BayCare Sports Medicine and chairman of medical education at the University of Wisconsin affiliated Medical School program in Green Bay. He is a member of the BayCare Clinic Board and Executive Committee. Prior to arriving at BayCare, Dr. Summerside maintained an emergency medicine practice. He is an active member of the American College of Physician Executives. He received his medical degree from the University of Iowa College of Medicine and completed his residency in emergency medicine at the University of Illinois. Dr. Summerside received his master's of medical management from the University of Southern California and is a fellow of the American Academy of Emergency Medicine. He is an active member and current president of the De Pere (Wisc.) School Board.

Nick Turkal, MD. Dr. Turkal is president and CEO of Aurora Health Care in Milwaukee, Wisc. Prior to becoming CEO, he was senior vice president and president of the company's Metro Region. He was the former St. Luke's Program Director and Family Medicine Associate Chair. Dr. Turkal grew up in Nebraska and graduated from Creighton University Medical School before coming to Milwaukee for residency training at St. Michael's Family Practice Residency Program. He ran a solo practice in Robinson, Ill., before coming to St. Luke's in 1989.

Harold Varmus, MD. Dr. Varmus is president and CEO of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, N.Y. He was the former director of the National Institutes of Health and co-recipient (along with Dr. J. Michael Bishop) of a Nobel Prize for studies of the genetic basis of cancer. While at MSKCC, he aimed to harness recent advances in the biological sciences to improve the care of patients with cancer. In addition, the scientific programs have been reorganized and enlarged, and he has overseen the construction of several new facilities. While at the NIH, Dr. Varmus initiated many changes in the conduct of intramural and extramural research programs, recruited new leaders for most of the important positions at the NIH, planned three major buildings on the NIH campus and helped to initiate the five-year doubling of the NIH budget. He has authored more than 300 scientific papers and four books, including an introduction to the genetic basis of cancer for a general audience, and he has been an advisor to the federal government, pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms and many academic institutions. He served on the World Health Organization's Commission on Macroeconomics and Health and is a co-founder and chairman of the board of directors of the Public Library of Science. He chairs the scientific board of the Grand Challenges in Global Health at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and is involved in initiatives to promote science in developing countries, including the Global Science Corps, through the Science Initiatives Group.

Paul Whelton, MD, MSc. Dr. Whelton is president and CEO of Loyola University Health System in Chicago. He was senior vice president for health sciences at Tulane University Health Sciences Center and was dean of the Tulane University School of Medicine. Dr. Whelton has held faculty positions at both Tulane and Johns Hopkins University. A native of Cork City, Ireland, Dr. Whelton received his medical degree from the National University of Ireland, University College Cork and a master of science degree in epidemiology from the University of London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Dr. Whelton has conducted a series of groundbreaking studies on the prevention and treatment of hypertension for the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and the National Institute on Aging. He is well published and has served as a consultant to numerous national and international health agencies and governments.