Lakshmi Halasyamani, MD, SFHM, is the new chief medical officer (CMO) for Cogent Healthcare, which is based in Brentwood, Tenn. A former SHM board member, Dr. Halasyamani comes to Cogent from her role as CMO at St. Joseph Mercy Health System in Ypsilanti, Mich. She has assumed the role left vacant by Ron Greeno, MD, MHM, after Cogent appointed him executive vice president of strategy and innovation.

Dalibor Hradek, MD, has been named the 2013 physician of the year by the Greenville, S.C.-based OB Hospitalist Group (OBHG). Dr. Hradek is an OB/GYN hospitalist at Lakeland Regional Medical Center in Lakeland, Fla. Dr. Hradek received praise for his clinical expertise and dedication to his patients. OBHG staffs more than 250 OB/GYN hospitalists in over 55 programs nationwide.

Abdul Ftesi, MD, has been named the new hospitalist medical director at the University of Oklahoma Medical Center (OUMC) in Oklahoma City, Okla., by the Dallas, Texas-based provider Questcare Hospitalists. In his new role, Dr. Ftesi will lead and coordinate a team of 12 hospitalists.

Alan Dulit, MD, is the new chief medical officer for St. Anthony Summit Medical Center in Frisco, Colo. Dr. Dulit comes to St. Anthony from his role as OB Hospitalist Group’s vice president of medical affairs at St. Mark’s Hospital in Salt Lake City.

Sujesh Pillai, MD, has been named the 2013 Physician of the Year by Huntsville (Texas) Memorial Hospital (HMH). Dr. Pillai currently serves as hospitalist medical director at HMH. Dr. Pillai is noted for his professionalism and his compassion for his patients and their families.

Christine Meagher, RN, is the first to receive the Hospitalist Nursing Service Award from the Physician Hospitalist group at Heywood Hospital in Gardner, Mass. Meagher serves as a nurse in the ICU at the 134-bed acute care facility.

John Larson, MD, has been named Family Physician of the Year for 2013 by the Wisconsin Academy of Family Physicians. Dr. Larson serves as regional assistant medical director for Mayo Clinic Health System and often plays the role of a hospitalist, among many others, as part of his job.

Charles Clair, MD, recently received a service and gratitude award from the Pocatello (Idaho) Free Clinic. Dr. Clair serves as a hospitalist at Portneuf Medical Center in Pocatello, Idaho, and regularly volunteers at the Free Clinic with his wife, who offers her time maintaining the clinic’s website. The Pocatello Free Clinic has been serving patients in the area since 1971.

Felix Cabrera, MD, is the new director of clinical informatics and medical education for Guam Regional Medical City (GRMC) in Dededo, Guam. Dr. Cabrera was previously a hospitalist and associate medical director at Guam Memorial Hospital. GRMC is a brand new, 130-bed acute care facility privately owned by Philippine healthcare firm The Medical City.

Scott Sears, MD, FACP, has been named the new chief clinical officer for the Tacoma, Wash.-based Sound Physicians. Dr. Sears assumes his new role after serving as Sound’s regional chief medical officer for the Northwest Region.

Talbot “Mac” McCormick, MD, has assumed the role of chief executive officer of the Dallas, Texas-based Eagle Hospital Physicians. Dr. McCormick previously served as Eagle’s president and chief operating officer and has been with Eagle in various roles since 2003.

Business Moves

Milan General Hospital in Milan, Tenn., recently added a hospitalist program to the 70-bed acute care facility. Milan General opened in 1941, and now it is one of six community hospitals in the West Tennessee Healthcare network, a public, nonprofit healthcare system serving the greater Jackson, Tenn., area. Mercy McCune-Brooks Hospital in Carthage, Mo., has added a new hospitalist program to its list of services. Mercy McCune-Brooks is a 49-bed acute care facility that is part of Mercy, the sixth largest Catholic healthcare system in the country. Mercy operates hospitals and clinics throughout Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, and Oklahoma. Sound Physicians, based in Tacoma, Wash., has agreed to provide hospitalist services at Albemarle Hospital in Elizabeth City, N.C., and Whidbey General Hospital in Coupeville, Wash. Sound provides hospitalist services to over 70 hospitals and acute care facilities across the country. Heritage Valley Health System (HVHS) in Moon Township, Penn., has recently expanded its hospitalist program. HVHS is now staffing 10 hospitalists, one physician assistant, and one nurse practitioner across their Beaver and Sewickley campuses, up from just six physicians at the program’s inception in 2011. Martha’s Vineyard Hospital in Oak Bluffs, Mass., has announced plans to introduce a hospitalist program at the 15-bed acute care facility. The hospital expects to hire three hospitalist physicians and two physician assistants or nurse practitioners. Officials cite a shortage of primary care physicians on Martha’s Vineyard as the main reason for bringing in hospitalists.

Movers and Shakers in Hospital Medicine