Erlanger Health System recruited 65 full-time physicians and advanced practice providers (APP) in 2020, officials said.
Of these new providers,
· Thirty-four are physicians and 31 are APPs;
· Fifty-two are adult providers and 13 are pediatric providers;
· Adult providers represent 11 clinical specialties and areas of medicine – women’s services, orthopaedics and sports medicine, primary care, behavioral health, critical care, neurology and neurosurgery, gastroenterology, cardiology, endocrinology, bariatrics and hospitalists;
· Pediatric providers represent eight clinical subspecialties and areas of medicine – neonatology, pediatric intensive care, general pediatrics, pediatric pulmonology, pediatric gastroenterology, pediatric cardiology, pediatric neurology and pediatric hospitalists.
“Provider recruitment was one of Erlanger’s main goals in 2020,” said Erlanger Health System CEO Dr.
William Jackson. “Our provider and leadership recruitment team has done a superb job of identifying and onboarding exceptional physicians and APPs to serve our patients throughout the region.”
One area of focus for provider recruitment included adding more primary care providers to the team at Erlanger Western Carolina Hospital (EWCH). Six providers were recruited to EWCH – Dr. Brian Mitchell, Dr. Stephen Rubendall, Dr. Stacie Gilmore, Dr. Terry Fokakis, Dr. Jillian Irwin and physician assistant Samantha Thompson. These providers work in the communities of Murphy, Andrews and Hayesville in western North Carolina.
Erlanger also added the region’s only adult and pediatric fellowship-trained orthopaedic oncologist, Dr. Ryan Voskuil. As a former Erlanger orthopaedic surgery resident, affiliated with the University of Tennessee College of Medicine Chattanooga, Dr. Voskuil returned to Erlanger to create the region’s first dedicated sarcoma team and bring orthopaedic oncology principles to the management of metastatic bone disease and benign conditions of the musculoskeletal system.
“Under Dr. Jackson’s leadership, Erlanger Medical Group has welcomed a large number of new providers to our practices,” said Erlanger Medical Group Senior Vice President Meridith O’Keefe. “The providers who joined us in 2020 are filling essential roles that will positively impact the health of our community and the greater region.”
In preparation for the COVID-19 pandemic, Erlanger’s recruitment plans were adapted to accommodate care for those affected by the virus. Five critical care providers were recruited to work in an intensive care setting. Nine hospitalist providers were onboarded to ensure those patients who were hospitalized received the best care possible.