SHMG leadership evolving to meet changing needs

Meet the leaders; watch the video on how SHMG has evolved

Salem Health Medical Group is creating a leadership team to meet the growing health care needs in our community. This work will evolve, based on our continued commitment to people and culture as our focus.

Chief medical officers

• After five years of service as chief medical officer for both SHMG and Salem Health Hospitals & Clinics, Ralph Yates, DO, will narrow his scope to serve as chief medical officer of Salem Health. Dr. Yates has grown the medical group from 80 to 200 providers during his tenure. He has helped develop a culture that draws providers from across the U.S. and beyond. Part of this year’s work is creating a position for a chief medical officer dedicated to SHMG.
• Nicole VanDerHeyden, MD, SHMG associate chief medical officer, stepped into the new role as interim chief medical officer for SHMG effective Sept. 3. She will serve in this role until semi-retiring in spring 2020.

Please watch the Vlog message from Dr. Yates and Dr. VanDerHeyden.

• Michelle Rasmussen, MD, currently associate chief medical officer, will reduce her clinic days to once a week so she can spend more administrative time to support SHMG primary care providers, in addition to departments she currently supports. This change begins Sept. 29.
• Christine Clarke, MD, FACS, will join the medical group as associate chief medical officer in January 2020.  She currently serves as president of the Salem Health medical staff and as medical staff engagement strategy deployment leader. She has held appointments to support the 890-member Salem Health medical staff since 2007.

Director structure
We have aligned director responsibility within primary and adult care services, specialty services and centralized services.

• Ryan Parent has assumed responsibility over primary care, the adult hospitalist program, urgent care, occupational medicine, employee health, and inpatient psychiatry.

• Renee Martizia-Rash, RN, has assumed responsibility over all specialty clinics, which include pain, palliative, neurology, cardiothoracic surgery, general surgery, trauma and acute care surgery (TRACS), vascular surgery, and women’s and children’s services.

Additionally, there have been several recent transitions and additions of new SHMG managers across clinics and service lines.