Blaise Baxter, MD, has been named to serve on the Chattanooga Hamilton County Hospital Authority Board of Trustees, the governing body of Erlanger Health System.
Dr. Baxter, appointed to the Board by Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger, is the chief of Radiology for the Erlanger Health System and the chairman of Radiology for the University of Tennessee College of Medicine Chattanooga. He is a neuro-interventional radiologist with Tennessee Interventional and Imaging Associates, the exclusive radiology team for Erlanger.
Dr. Baxter received his medical degree and completed a neuroradiology fellowship at Dalhousie University Halifax in Nova Scotia. He is certified by the American Board of Radiology and is a Diagnostic Radiology fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons.
Since moving to Chattanooga in 1999, Dr. Baxter has helped develop the Southeast Regional Stroke Center at Erlanger, the second largest acute stroke center in the United States.
"He has been involved in stroke research and intervention, and has helped refine techniques employed in performing stroke intervention that have received worldwide recognition. The Southeast Regional Stroke Center at Erlanger, has been a lead enrolling site in many stroke trials, including the Swift Prime and ESCAPE trials that have led to a change in the standard of care for large vessel occlusion stroke patients," officials said.
“Dr. Baxter’s impressive medical credentials bring another element to an outstanding Erlanger board. I am confident Dr. Baxter’s insight will serve the medical community and Hamilton County well during his board tenure,” said Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger.
Through speaking engagements and training courses, Dr. Baxter has helped train a large number of physicians performing stroke intervention in the U.S. and internationally. His publications include many scientific journals including the New England Journal of Medicine. He currently serves as the vice president of the Society of Neurointerventional Surgery and will become the president of SNIS in the summer of 2017.
“With Dr. Baxter’s extensive medical expertise and working knowledge of Erlanger Health System, he will be a major asset to our board,” said Kevin M. Spiegel, FACHE, Erlanger’s president & CEO.
“We are fortunate to have Dr. Blaise Baxter appointed to our board, a world class doctor with strong physician leadership skills and an academic background,” said Jack Studer, chairman of Erlanger’s Board. “I want to thank Mayor Coppinger for recognizing the importance of having a well-rounded board of trustees at Erlanger, with appropriate physician representation.”
Erlanger trustees are appointed to the board by the Hamilton County Mayor and the Legislative Delegation. The chief of staff also serves on the board. Trustees, who serve without compensation, are appointed for an initial term of four years and may serve for no more than eight consecutive years.
Jack Studer serves as chairman of the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Hospital Authority Board of Trustees. Other trustees include Richard Youngblood, vice chair; Michael J. Griffin, secretary; Lee Kern, MD, chief of medical staff; Henry Hoss; Linda Moss Mines; Phil Smartt; Jennifer E. Stanley; Gerald Webb, II; and Tom Edd Wilson.