Sam Bagchi, MD,
Dr. Bagchi
is the new senior vice president/chief medical officer for Methodist Health System in Dallas, Texas. Dr. Bagchi comes to Methodist from Vanguard Health Systems’ New England region, where he served as chief medical informatics officer and medical director of utilization management. Before Vanguard, he served as director of hospital medicine and associate vice president of utilization management for Emerson Hospital in Concord, Mass.
Dr. Bailey
George Bailey, MD, has been named 2014 Physician of the Year by the Ob Hospitalist Group (OBHG), based in Mauldin, S.C. Dr. Bailey has been a practicing OB/GYN hospitalist at Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital in Yakima, Wash., since the OB hospitalist program began there in July 2013. Dr. Bailey’s colleagues cite his emphasis on safety, communication, and mentorship as a few of the characteristics that define him as a leader at their hospital.
Martha Buckley, MD, is the new chief quality officer at Fairfield Medical Center in Lancaster, Ohio. Dr. Buckley joined FMC as a hospitalist in 2010 before serving as a part-time chief medical quality officer. FMC is a 222-bed, nonprofit, acute care center serving Athens, Fairfield, Hocking, and Perry counties in central Ohio.
Dr. Farah
Marina Farah, MD, MHA, has been promoted to vice president of clinical innovation at Sound Physicians, based in Tacoma, Wash. Prior to her new role, Dr. Farah served as senior medical director of performance management at Sound. Dr. Farah has been with Sound since 2002, and, in 2011, she received the Milliman Care Guidelines Richard L. Doyle Award for Innovation and Leadership in Healthcare.
Robert Holloway, MD, SFHM, is the new executive vice president of management services and consulting for Hospitalists Now, Inc., based in Austin, Texas. Dr. Holloway comes to HNI from his role as CEO and chief medical officer for InCompass Health, an Atlanta-based national hospitalist service provider that he founded in 1999. Dr. Holloway will continue his work as a clinical faculty member at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta.
Dr. Oukachbi
Salima Oukachbi, MD, received the Physician Assistant Educator Award from the Canadian Physician Assistant Education Association and the Canadian Association of Physician Assistants in recognition for her performance as an educator of physician assistants in Northwestern Ontario. Dr. Oukachbi is a hospitalist at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.
Dr. Pitts
Olevia Pitts, MD, SFHM, has been appointed executive director of IPC Healthcare’s Kansas City Region. Prior to her new role, Dr. Pitts served as regional medical director of IPC’s Kansas City Region. She is also a member of IPC’s Practice Group Leadership Council, where she serves as a mentor for future physician leaders.
Syed A. Raza, MD, is the new chief medical officer at CHI St. Luke’s Health—The Woodlands Hospital in The Woodlands, Texas. Most recently, Dr. Raza worked as associate chief of medicine and chief hospitalist for The Woodlands Hospital’s primary hospitalist group. In 2006, he helped establish the original hospitalist group at CHI St. Luke’s The Woodlands and Memorial Hermann The Woodlands hospitals.
Dr. Whalen
Thomas Whalen, DO, received the Hal Belknap Heart of Gold award from Norman Regional Health System in Norman, Okla., for outstanding service to his community. Dr. Whalen is the hospitalist service medical director at Norman Regional Hospital. Before Norman, he served as an Air Force major and chief of medicine at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City. Dr. Whalen is also recognized as a respected Angel Flight pilot and frequent blood donor.