Wake Radiology announces hiring of 8 physicians, plus more staffing news
Wake Radiology UNC REX Healthcare has hired eight new physicians amid a challenging staffing climate, the Raleigh, North Carolina, private practice announced Tuesday.
Founded in 1953, Wake Radiology was able to attract all of its new fellowship-trained team members over the last 60 days. The practice credited its staffing success to investments in delivering high-quality care, along with an ongoing commitment to hiring subspecialized physicians.
The oldest radiology group in the Research Triangle—which includes Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill—Wake’s new hires have expertise in musculoskeletal care, informatics, pediatrics, interventional radiology, and breast, abdominal and neurological imaging.
“We are delighted to have these talented new colleagues join our team of radiologists delivering the highest standard of care for all of our patients,” President and Managing Partner Brent Townsend, MD, said in an announcement shared Sept. 10.
Following the hires, Wake Radiology now employs over 60 radiologists serving 14 locations in the region. Here is the list of newly hired physicians (you can read more about each of them in the news release):
- Jeffrey Ashton, MD, PhD, an abdominal imaging subspecialist, joined Wake Radiology July 1. He attended the Duke University School of Medicine’s Medical Scientist Training program in Durham, N.C., earning a dual MD/PhD degree, and completed his fellowship at the same institution.
- Susan Turner, MD, a breast imaging subspecialist raised in New Bern, N.C., joined Wake Radiology July 1. She attended the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University in Greenville, N.C., and completed her residency in radiology and fellowship at Wake Forest University.
- Caleb Epps, MD, a pediatric subspecialist, joined Wake Radiology July 29. He grew up in Wake Forest, N.C., attending medical school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, completing his fellowship at the Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston.
- Rob Sukumar, MD, a neuroradiology subspecialist, joined Wake Radiology Aug. 1. He graduated from the Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston and completed several programs at the University of Virginia, including a diagnostic radiology residency and his fellowship.
- Erik A Eklund, MD, a musculoskeletal/informatics subspecialist, joined Wake Radiology Aug. 1. He completed medical school, a diagnostic imaging residency and fellowship at the University of Virginia School of Medicine in Charlottesville, Va.
- Venki Ramakrishnan, MD, an interventional radiology subspecialist, joined Wake Radiology Aug. 5. He attended the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine in Roanoke, Va., and completed his internship, residency and fellowship at UNC.
- Alexander Reddy, MD, an abdominal imaging subspecialist, joined Wake Radiology Aug. 19. He attended medical school at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and later completed his residency and fellowship at the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, which is part of Washington University in St. Louis.
- Crysta Kyrazis, MD, an abdominal and breast imaging specialist, joined Wake Radiology Aug. 30. She completed the University of Florida College of Medicine’s Medical Honors Program in Gainesville and finished her residency and fellowship at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
Meanwhile, Wake Radiology also recently announced the retirement of Joseph W. Melamed, MD, on Aug. 30.
He spent the last 28 years at the practice, helping advance its services in orthopedic imaging, pain management and bone densitometry. Melamed also served as a member of Wake Radiology’s administrative team and as radiology chair at the Maria Parham Hospital (now Maria Parham Health) in Henderson, N.C., for many years.
“Because of his courageous leadership as a young radiologist, Wake Radiology embraced a more progressive and democratic culture, which served to improve the recruitment and retention of the highest quality radiologists in the region,” practice member Nik Wasudev, MD, said in a separate announcement. “His role was integral in this transformation of the group during his early years.”
Envision leadership changes
Nashville, Tennessee-based multispecialty radiology provider Envision Healthcare announced multiple leadership changes on Sept. 3.
The organization is making three updates to its C-suite, naming Derik Reynecke as chief integration officer, Michelle Dean as chief people officer and Emily Ford as chief strategy officer.
Envision recently created the CIO role filled by Reynecke, who will work to enhance operations and position the medical group as a trusted partner in the healthcare community. Meanwhile, Dean will work to bolster Envision as a place to work while supporting clinicians and their teams. She replaces Meg Lafave, who has filled the chief people officer role since March 2022 and is departing to focus on the “next challenge in her career.”
As chief strategy officer, Ford will “deepen Envision’s value proposition” and manage the medical group’s centralized strategy and business development functions.
“We are thrilled to welcome Derik, Michelle and Emily,” President and CEO Jason Owen said in a statement. “They are tenured executives with extensive experience driving transformation and growth at leading organizations. They will be pivotal in advancing our strategic objectives and continuing our operational excellence.”
Formerly backed by private equity firm KKR, Envision emerged from the Chapter 11 bankruptcy process in October and named Owen CEO in April. The company employed more than 17,000 clinicians as of last year, including 500 radiologists completing roughly 8 million reads. Envision also operates in anesthesiology, critical care, and emergency and hospital medicine.
VUMC emergency radiology chief
The Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn., has named Ashish Patel, MD, MBA, as its section chief of emergency radiology.
Patel joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 2018 and is an assistant professor of radiology and radiological sciences at VUMC. In the new role, he plans to focus on clinical service and enhancing academic opportunities in the section.
“Dr. Patel is a motivated and energized faculty member who will be a key contributor to this crucial acute care gateway to VUMC,” department Chair Daniel Brown, MD, said in an announcement.
“I feel incredibly fortunate to work with such a diverse and talented group of individuals, each bringing unique backgrounds, career paths and motivations,” Patel added. “Despite the challenges we face, we consistently come together to support one another and, most importantly, to provide exceptional care for our patients.”
Rapid fire
A few more hiring items of note, in rapid fashion:
- The University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health recently announced the addition of Matthew Smith, MD, PhD, as an assistant professor in its abdominal imaging and interventional section. Edwarda Golden, MD, also recently joined the same section as an assistant professor.
- And finally, the Vanderbilt Tullahoma Harton-Hospital in Tennessee recently welcomed Rifat Wahab, DO, as its newest radiologist and associate professor of breast imaging.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.