Appointments, additions in 2023 strengthen VUMC’s core missions

Dec 21, 2023 at 09:15 pm by Staff


Jordan Berlin, MD, Ingram Professor of Cancer Research, was named director of Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Division of Hematology and Oncology.

William Cooper, MD, MPH, Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Pediatrics and Health Policy and associate dean for Faculty Affairs for Vanderbilt University School of Medicine was named interim chair of the Department of Pediatrics. He will assume this role Feb. 1, 2024.

Cooper succeeds Steven Webber, MBChB, MRCP, James C. Overall Professor and Chair, who is departing Vanderbilt University Medical Center to serve as dean and executive vice chancellor for University of Arkansas Medical Sciences.

Chad Fitzgerald, JD, Senior Vice President for Health System Emergency Operations, was named Executive Vice President and will lead VUMC’s Clinical Support Services Division. He will assume this new role Jan. 1, 2024.

In addition to leading the Clinical Support Services Division, Fitzgerald will continue to oversee Health System Emergency Operations, which will be incorporated into the division.

Debra Friedman, MD, MS, holder of the E. Bronson Ingram Chair in Pediatric Oncology, was named deputy director of Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. Friedman serves as associate director for Community Science and Health Outcomes for Vanderbilt-Ingram and served as a research program leader for Vanderbilt-Ingram from 2008-2023.

Paul Harris, PhD, professor of Biomedical Informatics, Biostatistics and director of the Office of Clinical Research Informatics in the Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, was appointed to a new role as Vice President for Research Informatics at VUMC.

In this role, Harris will be responsible for advancing VUMC’s research capabilities, in particular, leading informatics aspects of data oversight and access, creating and disseminating clinical research informatics tools and service lines that support the VUMC research enterprise, and leading grants and programs that provide informatics expertise and infrastructure.

Bill Heerman, MD, MPH, associate professor of Pediatrics, was named chief of the Division of General Pediatrics.

Heerman, who has spent his entire career at Vanderbilt, was selected following a national search led by Kathryn Edwards, MD, who retired at the end of 2022, and S. Todd Callahan, MD, MPH, professor of Pediatrics and director of the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Health.

Sondra Hornsey, MSEd, CHPC, interim chief compliance and privacy officer for Stanford Health Care and Stanford Children’s Hospital, was named as VUMC’s new chief privacy officer.

Hornsey succeeded the Medical Center’s longtime chief privacy official, Gaye Smith, who retired earlier this year.

Adam Huggins, MD, MMHC, associate chief medical officer for Vanderbilt Wilson and Sumner Counties and assistant professor of Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology, was named to the newly created role of chief of staff for VUMC’s Center’s Regional Hospital Division.

Joseph Magliocca, MD, was named director of the Vanderbilt Transplant Center and surgical director of the Pediatric Liver Transplant Program.

Magliocca, professor of Surgery in the Division of Hepatobiliary Surgery and Liver Transplantation within the Department of Surgery, is a board-certified surgeon specializing in liver transplantation. He came to Vanderbilt from Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, where he was an associate professor of Surgery and Pediatrics.

Stephen W. Marshall, MBA, Senior Vice President of Operations for Surgery Partners, was named as Vice President and chief operating officer for Vanderbilt Health System’s Ambulatory Surgery Division.

In partnership with David Penson, MD, MPH, MMHC, the division’s executive medical director, Marshall is responsible for ambulatory surgery centers and procedure centers in the Vanderbilt Health System effective Jan. 1, 2024.

Gretchen K.D. McCullough, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, was named chief nursing officer of Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.

McCullough came to Vanderbilt from OHSU Health: Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland, Oregon, where she served as associate chief nursing officer for Women’s and Children’s Services. She succeeded Monroe Carell CNO Kathie Krause, MSN, RN, NNP-BC, NEA.

Dara Mize, MD, MS, was named chief medical information officer for VUMC. She will serve on the HealthIT executive team as the primary liaison to clinical leadership across VUMC. Mize will lead the team of clinical directors who have extensive expertise in clinical informatics. These clinical directors work with HealthIT experts to analyze, develop and implement solutions that optimize the use of technology and its impact on caring for VUMC’s patients and families.

Wendy Monaci, MBA, was VUMC’s Executive Vice President for Adult Ambulatory Operations.

The Adult Ambulatory Division, which represents the majority of VUMC patient visits, is essential to VUMC’s mission and overall growth strategy. Monaci is responsible for improving overall ambulatory services performance across all five Pillar dimensions: People, Service, Quality, Growth & Finance and Innovation.

Martin Montenovo, MD, associate professor of Surgery, was named chief of the Division of Hepatobiliary Surgery and Liver Transplantation in the Department of Surgery.

Montenovo joined VUMC in September 2019 when he was recruited to help develop and expand the Medical Center’s living donor liver transplant program.

Travis Osterman, DO, MS, assistant professor of Biomedical Informatics, Hematology and Oncology, and director of Cancer Clinical Informatics at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, was appointed to a new role as Associate Vice President for Research Informatics at VUMC.

In this leadership role, Osterman is responsible for helping advance VUMC’s research capabilities, particularly at the interface with VUMC Research and Health IT enterprises.

Mayur Patel, MD, MPH, associate professor of Surgery and Ingram Chair in Surgical Sciences, was named chief of the Division of Acute Care Surgery in the Department of Surgery.

Lori Rolando, MD, MPH, transitioned into a new role as executive director of Vanderbilt Health and Wellness. In this new role, she oversees Occupational Health, Health Plus and Work/Life Connections-EAP.

Rolando has been at Vanderbilt for 15 years and, in her previous role as director of the Occupational Health Clinic, has worked closely with all aspects of Health and Wellness.

Brian Rothman, MD, professor of Anesthesiology, Biomedical Informatics, and Surgery, and Medical Director for Revenue Cycle, was named to the newly created role of Vice President and executive medical director for VUMC.

He provides medical leadership for areas including Revenue Cycle, Managed Care Contracting, Credentialing, Revenue and Reimbursement and other clinician-facing initiatives pertaining to the Department of Finance.

Mark Sullivan, PharmD, MBA, BCPS, was promoted from associate chief pharmacy officer to chief pharmacy officer. His new responsibilities include Vanderbilt University Hospital operations, the retail, specialty and multiple contract pharmacy enterprise, and VUMC’s corporate pharmacy services.

Sullivan replaced Jim Hayman, MS, MBA, who transitioned to the role of Executive Vice President for VUMC’s new Shared Clinical Services Division and will continue to report directly to him.

Kyla Terhune, MD, MBA, Vice President for Educational Affairs and associate dean for Graduate Medical Education, was named Senior Vice President for Educational Affairs.

Terhune, who is also professor of Surgery and Anesthesiology and serves as an associate chief of staff for Vanderbilt University Hospital, has led VUMC’s Office of Graduate Medical Education for the past three years.

Cecelia Theobald, MD, MPH, associate professor of Medicine and executive vice chair for Clinical Affairs in the Department of Medicine, was appointed as VUMC,’s chief of staff for Corporate Clinical Affairs and Senior Vice President for Clinical Affairs.

Theobald assumed several responsibilities held by David Raiford, MD, who retired June 30.

David Wallace, MD, MPH, the Marilyn K. Glick Professor and chair of the Department of Ophthalmology for Indiana University School of Medicine, was named as the new chair of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences and director of the Vanderbilt Eye Institute.

Wallace succeeded Paul Sternberg Jr., MD, G.W. Hale Professor of Ophthalmology, who, after 20 impactful years, stepped down from his role as department chair on June 30.

Saralyn Williams, MD, professor of Emergency Medicine, Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, was named associate dean for Faculty Affairs for VUSM.

Williams replaced John Penn, PhD, who holds the Knights Templar Directorship in Pediatric Vision Research.

Patty Wright, MD, professor of Medicine, transitioned from her role as chief of staff for Adult Ambulatory, Davidson County to the role of chief medical officer for Adult Ambulatory Clinics.

Rick W. Wright, MD, the Dan Spengler, MD Professor and chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, was appointed as VUMC’s new chief medical officer and Senior Vice President for Clinical Affairs. Wright succeeded Paul Sternberg Jr., MD, who retired from the CMO role June 30.

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