Dr. Doug Ross, of Hot Springs, has been promoted to senior vice president and chief medical officer of the CHI St. Vincent system.
Ross previously was vice president of medical affairs for CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs. Ross will continue working out of Hot Springs, but will now oversee medical services throughout the entire CHI St. Vincent system.
"I'm excited. I've been part of CHI for the last four years and I learned a lot about the health system and the ministry of CHI St. Vincent and the role that it plays in health care in the state," he said. "This opportunity is allowing me to work more with our other facilities within the state and have a lot of contact with our physicians, our co-workers, and our patients. It allows me the opportunity to further expand our ministry."
Ross has played a key role in helping CHI St. Vincent develop an integrated emergency medical group covering all four CHI St. Vincent hospitals in central Arkansas and Conway Regional Medical Center, a news release said. He has also played an essential role in quality improvements at CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs.
Ensuring that every patient that walks through the doors at CHI St. Vincent achieves the highest clinical quality and best outcome is what Ross said his new role as chief medical officer entails.
"That is my priority," he said, "and to make sure that our patients experience this quality difference, and also make sure our patients feel our focus on safety. A patient's safety is our No. 1 priority. And then also to make sure our patients feel the care and compassion from all of our physicians and co-workers. That's my role, is to make sure that each of those patients experiences those things."
Ross joined what was then Mercy Hot Springs in 2003 as an emergency medicine physician. He has also served as chief of staff, medical director of informatics and medical director of the emergency department.
He is board certified in emergency medicine and he completed his residency in emergency medicine at the University of South Carolina. He is a graduate of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
According to Ross, it is an "exciting and challenging time" to be in health care across Arkansas and the country.
"We have the teams in place at CHI St. Vincent with our co-workers and our physicians to really help lead that change in health care and to continue to make a positive impact in our patients' lives. As chief medical officer I'm very, very proud that I have a role to help lead that and impact our patients. We're very focused on our mission and our ministry here in Arkansas and for me to even be a small part of that is the best," he added.
Local on 01/21/2018