Career Focus

Mercy Names Wolf VP of Medical Affairs, Chief Medical Officer

SPRINGFIELD — Dr. Scott Wolf has been appointed to the position of vice president of Medical Affairs and chief medical officer for Mercy Medical Center. In this position, he will serve as a liaison between administration and the medical staff, providing the leadership necessary to advance quality initiatives, clinical care, and patient satisfaction. His focus will also include risk management, patient safety, and Joint Commission requirements for accreditation.

Board-certified in Internal Medicine and a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, Wolf comes to Mercy Medical Center with broad clinical and administrative experience in a variety of health care environments. During his 10-year association with Hartford Hospital in Connecticut, he served in various capacities, including director of Clinical Operations for Ambulatory Medicine, director of Ambulatory Medical Education, and associate program director of the Internal Medicine Residency Program.

As medical director for strategic initiatives at Pfizer Health Solutions, he gained extensive exposure to disease management initiatives both nationally and internationally. Most recently, he served as senior medical director of the Northeast Region for Aetna in Hartford, where he was responsible for Aetna’s medical-management initiatives.

Wolf is a graduate of Union College and New York College of Osteopathic Medicine. He completed his residency at UConn and also served as chief resident at Hartford Hospital. In addition to his medical education, he has a master’s degree in Public Health from UConn.

“Dr. Wolf brings a wide range of experience to Mercy Medical Center, and this, coupled with his extensive clinical knowledge and personable manner, will serve him well in these important roles at the health system,” said Dr. William Bithoney, chief operating officer of Mercy Medical Center and chief medical officer of the Sisters of Providence Health System.

“Mercy Medical Center is widely known as a regional leader in the delivery of high-quality, patient-centered care, and I look forward to a long and rewarding affiliation with this outstanding facility,” Wolf said.

Medical Society Awards McCann Clinician Honor

GREENFIELD — Dr. John McCann, medical director of the Baystate Regional Cancer Program at Baystate Franklin Medical Center, has been named the 2010 Community Clinician of the Year by his physician peers of the Franklin District Medical Society.

The award was established in 1998 by the Mass. Medical Society to recognize a physician from each of the society’s 20 district medical societies who has made significant contributions to his or her patients and the community and who stands out as a leading advocate and caregiver.

McCann, a graduate of UMass Medical School, is board-certified in medical oncology and hematology. He has had a joint appointment at Baystate Franklin Medical Center and Baystate Medical Center since 1995. He has been an assistant professor of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine since 1995 and has been principal investigator of the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group of Baystate Health System hospitals since 1996.

A published author on aspects of cancer and oncology, McCann has been named to Woodward/White’s Best Doctors in America, a global medical information source to help people find excellent medical care.

Ballan Joins Staff at Family Medical Care

LONGEMEADOW — JGS Family Medical Care located at 780 Converse St. is pleased to welcome Dr. David Ballan to its practice.

Quality time spent with each patient will be Ballan’s biggest priority as a physician at FMC. Beyond the clinical needs of his patients, he feels that the highest-quality medical care must include an understanding of their spiritual and emotional needs as well. “Here at FMC, I actually have time to see the patient, and no one will ever feel they are just something to be checked off a list,” said Ballan. “Each patient can count on being heard when they come to FMC.”

Family Medical Care is a primary-care medical practice founded on the principle of promoting healthy and independent aging, but which offers its services to adults of all ages. Located on the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Campus of Jewish Geriatric Services, the practice is led by Dr. Udaya Jagadeesan, a specialist in geriatric medicine. Dr. Carolyn Brown and nurse practitioners Kathryn Barzilai and Kristine Wailgum complete this team of professionals.

After more than 30 years working in Springfield in a large, private practice of between 3,000 and 4,000 patients, Ballan was looking for an opportunity to provide a different type of care to his patients. Like some other physicians, he began to feel that the size and demands of his practice made it almost impossible for him to spend enough time with each patient.

JGS, as a nonprofit, faith-based medical organization, is a perfect fit for Ballan, who says he has dedicated his life to understanding the relationship between patients’ spiritual and emotional selves and their physical well-being. As an internist for more than three decades, his life’s work has involved diagnosing underlying disease states based on symptoms.

In addition to being a physician, Ballan is also the author of Unresolved Stress: Thirsting for Peace, which delves into the issues of stress, how it develops, and why it can be so difficult to resolve. In his book, he offers detailed descriptions of the eight most common circumstances that cause stress and offers his own treatments for them.

McGraw Named Fellow in Hospital Medicine

GREENFIELD — Dr. Kathleen McGraw, a Baystate Franklin Medical Center hospitalist, is among the nearly 200 hospitalists nationwide who have earned the fellow in hospital medicine (FHM) designation in 2010 from the Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM).

McGraw joined the BFMC medical staff as its first hospitalist in 2004. As the medical director of the Hospitalist Program, she has been instrumental in expanding the program to its present status, in which a team of hospitalists care for patients 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

A graduate of the University of Minnesota, she completed her master’s degree at UMass Amherst. She was co-founder of the Community Health Center in Turners Falls, and served as the founding president of the Board. She received her medical degree from UMass Medical School in Worcester, and completed her residency in Internal Medicine at Baystate Medical Center.

Hospitalists are experts in the diagnosis and treatment of seriously ill patients. Because they are based in the hospital, they can respond quickly to patients’ needs as they arise. They provide hospital coverage for several primary care practices in the area, enabling the primary care physicians to focus greater time and attention on their outpatient practices.

Now in its second year, the FHM credential is a key component in professional development for hospitalists. To be designated as a fellow in Hospital Medicine, an applicant must meet a set of diverse criteria, including being a hospitalist for five years, demonstrating dedication to quality and process improvement, illustrating commitment to organizational teamwork and leadership, and active engagement in lifelong learning and education.

“As a part of rapidly expanding medical specialty, the best hospitalists in the country are using the FHM designation to better distinguish their expertise and commitment to hospital medicine,” said SHM’s CEO, Dr. Larry Wellikson. “We hope that hospitals and communities will join us in congratulating these individuals in their achievement and their service to improving patient care in the hospital.”

Baystate Dietitians to Serve on WAMDA Board

SPRINGFIELD — Eleven Baystate Health System (BHS) registered dietitians have been elected to serve on the board of directors for the Western Area Massachusetts Dietetic Assoc.

WAMDA is a group of 120 nutrition professionals who practice in various aspects of nutrition, including bariatrics, renal, cardiac, weight management, diabetes, pediatrics, women’s health, and medical/surgical. Registered dietitians throughout Baystate Health System have always had leadership roles in this organization and will continue to do so for the 2010-11 year.

The WAMDA board members from BHS are: Kathy Roberts, cardiac; Sheila Sullivan, renal; Paula Serafino-Cross, bariatrics; Janet Sharp, outpatient: all patients; Cheryl Wesolowski, bariatrics; Sandi Knoll, women’s health; Rubina Husain, medical/surgical; Lisa Laprade, pediatrics; Maryann Hayes, diabetes; Lora Warren, pediatrics; and Alison Roy, cardiac.