Capella Health

Dr. Trey Kirby Voted Warren County’s 2013 “Best of the Best” Doctor

Gynecologist has passion for preventing cancer

SPARTA — “You don’t just wake up one morning and have cancer.”

That’s what Dr. Kalyani Kumar says she stresses to her gynecological patients at Highlands Women’s Healthcare in Sparta.

For her, prevention is the key.

And it’s her passion.

“I like to do everything in my power to prevent cancer,” she said.

“When we pick up something in the pre-cancer stage, the treatment is so much easier and better. It saves lives.”

Kumar, a native of India, has been at her current White County position since 2009, having relocated from Richmond, Va., after 28 years of caring for her private practice patients there and serving on various congressional and senatorial committees and physician advisory boards.

And she stood out in her efforts — in 2006, she was even recommended for the U.S. Surgeon General nomination and was interviewed at the White House.

“When I was on these advisory boards, I was steering them toward keeping people healthy, which really saves a lot of health care dollars in the long run,” she said. “That’s really my passion — trying not to wait for people to get sick and then treat them, particularly in cases of cancer… because things don’t happen overnight.

“They keep brewing, and it’s really important for us to look for (symptoms) and make sure they don’t get (cancer).”

Some of Kumar’s other accomplishments include being recognized as one of America’s top OB/GYNs in 2004-2007 by the Consumer Research Council of America; being awarded as a “Pioneer in Health Care Reform” by the National Congressional Committee in 2004; and authoring several books, including “Creating a Paradigm Shift in American Health Care.”

“During my career, I have traveled the world serving as faculty for minimal invasive surgery, doing a lot of teaching in various countries for laparoscopy and hysteroscopy,” she said.

“I have also pioneered some of the technology, like office micro-hysteroscopy, where we take a tiny scope inside the uterus and take a look at things. I was one of the very first.”

Now, she’s enjoying the quiet life of a small town doctor in White County.

“I enjoy working here quite a bit because there is a huge need in this rural area,” she said. “Again, my passion has been prevention — preventive care for cervical cancer, uterine cancer and gynecologic cancer. The last thing I want to see is somebody walk in here with anything like that because (those cancers) are preventable.”

Kumar is board-certified and a member of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tennessee Medical Association and the Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons. She is also a staff member at Highlands Medical Center, DeKalb Community Hospital and Stones River Hospital.

She encourages women to get regular health screenings to catch potential problems early.

“We always recommend pap smears, which are very, very important, and timely mammograms,” she said. “And a lot of times, based on symptoms and family history, they would need a pelvic ultrasound.”

After all, ultrasounds aren’t just for pregnant women, she noted.

“Right now, we still don’t have a very good mechanism to detect ovarian cancer,” she said. “That’s why we need to be looking for significant ovarian cysts… So, we have to use all this technology because ovarian cancer can be totally asymptomatic.”

Kumar pointed out that prevention is also about a healthy diet, exercise, lifestyle modification and even weight management.

“I have really been working to increase awareness,” she said. “Women really need that education. It’s not just about being heavy; it’s about so many other things that it can cause, particular uterine cancer.”

But when symptoms like irregular bleeding or abnormal pap smears come up — that’s the time to take action and see a health care professional.

“We do need to follow the proper methodology to see what is going on,” Kumar said.

To that end, she also utilizes minimally evasive surgeries when necessary — such as the laparoscopy and hysteroscopy.

The first step in prevention is making that appointment, Kumar pointed out.

“It’s extremely important,” she said. “I encourage women to call and make that appointment because by doing that, they’ve already started the process toward good health.”

And possibly saving their life.

Erik Swensson, MD, Makes List of 100 Nominees for “50 Most Influential Physician Executives in Healthcare” – January 2013

Dr. Erik Swensson, Capella Healthcare’s Chief Medical Officer, has been selected as one of 100 nominees from which the “50 Most Influential Physician Executives in Healthcare” will be selected.

Modern Physician and sister publication Modern Healthcare co-sponsor this annual recognition program. Reader nominations were used to create the final ballot for the competition. Now readers are being asked to vote for one of 100 physician executives on that ballot. Readers’ votes will count for 50% of the outcome with the other 50% coming from the expert opinions of the senior editors at Modern Healthcare and Modern Physician.

Readers’ votes count for 50% of the outcome with the other 50% coming from the expert opinions of the senior editors at Modern Healthcare and Modern Physician. The final ranking will be published in the April 22, 2013 issue of both Modern Physician and Modern Healthcare.

To read more about all of the nominees and to vote, visit this link:

https://www.modernphysician.com/section/50mostinfluential-about

Friday, February 8 is the last day for the public to vote.

Dr. Swensson was named Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Capella Healthcare in January of 2011.  The position was structured so that Dr. Swensson, a surgeon, is also able to continue practicing medicine part-time while serving simultaneously in the corporate role.  He is a vascular and general surgeon affiliated with Willamette Valley Medical Center (WVMC) in McMinnville, OR, which has been a part of Capella Healthcare since February 2008.

As CMO, Swensson provides leadership for Capella’s affiliated hospitals’ quality and service excellence initiatives as well as for on-going communication with medical staff members.  He also facilitates the work of Capella’s National Physician Leadership Group, ensuring that physician leaders from across the company are continuously involved in shaping the company’s vision and future strategies.

Swensson has practiced medicine in Oregon since 1998, serving in a variety of leadership positions with the hospital and in the community.  At the hospital, he has held numerous medical staff leadership roles, rising to Chief of Staff in 2007.  He has also been a member of the hospital’s Board of Trustees. He has served on WVMC’s Physician Leadership Group since 2000. When Capella Healthcare formed its National Physician Leadership Group, Swensson was selected as National Chair because of his proven leadership abilities.

The first president of the Willamette Valley Cancer Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides support for low-income cancer patients, Swensson continues to serve on the Foundation’s Board.  Respected by his peers, he was elected as President of the McMinnville Physicians Organization, serving for four years in that position.  In the community, he has served on the Board of Directors for the McMinnville Chamber of Commerce and was named “Businessman of the Year” in 2003, the first physician to earn that honor in 50 years.

Swensson earned his medical degree from Washington University in St. Louis, MO, in 1979 with honors. He then completed his general surgery internship and residency with Medical College of Virginia in Richmond, where he was selected as Chief Surgical Resident.  He also completed a vascular surgery fellowship at St. Louis University in 1985.  He has earned board certification in general surgery and vascular surgery from the American Board of Surgery, as well as completed extensive education and training in wound care and hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

 

Dr. Richard Winder named “Physician of the Year”

Richard Winder, DO, has been named the “Physician of the Year” by the Heartland Chapter of the Emergency Nurses Association, which includes hospitals throughout a six-county region in Southeastern Missouri.  The award was presented at the organization’s first Annual Awards Banquet held during the fall of 2012.

An Emergency Medicine specialist, Dr. Winder is the long-time Physician Advisor for Mineral Area Regional Medical Center in Farmington. The award recognizes his many years of service in the region.

 

Dr. Homer Kirby honored with Healthcare Hero Award – November 2012

Homer “Trey” Kirby III, DO, was honored by the Tennessee Hospital Association with a Healthcare Hero award for his “heroic service” as a primary care physician and his 14 years as an active member of the U.S. military.  He is a long-time physician associated with River Park Hospital in McMinnville, TN, where he serves on the Physician Leadership Group.

Dr. Kirby most recently served a three-month deployment with the Tennessee National Guard earlier this year, stationed at a 40-bed mobile emergency room 75 miles from the Iranian border. In 2002, as a major in the Army, Dr. Kirby was a battalion surgeon on the front lines with the American troops who rolled through Baghdad and stormed the palace of Saddam Hussein.

He described the battlefield experience of being on the front lines as intense.  “I should have been killed four times, but I wasn’t,” he said.  His job on the battlefield was to keep wounded soldiers from dying, whatever that entailed.  “It was 24 hours a day of adrenaline,” he said.  ‘You didn’t know from one moment to the next if it was going to be your last moment or not, literally.”

Dr. Kirby has also gone above and beyond in his calling as a physician, according to River Park Hospital’s CEO Tim McGill.  “As a member of our Physician Leadership Group, Dr. Kirby gives his time to help make our hospital better.  He also serves as the medical director for a local nursing home.  He is known for his dedication to the patients he serves and he has made a lasting impression on so many individuals.”

 

Dr. Damba Chosen Health Policy Fellow – September 2012

Victoria Damba, DO, has been chosen by the American Osteopathic Association to be an Osteopathic Health Policy Fellow for the next year.  She is one of only 12 physician leaders chosen from around the country for this educational program sponsored by the Ohio State and NY Queens College of Osteopathic Medicine and the American Osteopathic Association.

 

 

 

National “Hand Hygiene Leadership Award” Presented to Dr. Blal Zafar

Blal Zafar, MD, a hospitalist at River Park Hospital in McMinnville, Tenn., was one of six physicians in the country to receive the Lathem Physician Leadership Award in Hand Hygiene from Proventix Systems of Birmingham.

The 2012 recipients are recognized as dedicated leaders of change within their facilities and provide outstanding examples of excellence in leadership and hand hygiene to patients, visitors and staff members.

Created in honor of Dr. Mickey Lathem of Birmingham’s Shelby Baptist Medical Center, the Lathem Award recognizes high-quality, compassionate care to patients through exemplary hand hygiene practices. He or she demonstrates quality through personal compliance and vocal, active leadership. This year’s winners continue to provide guidance in hand hygiene and ensure routine interaction with their staff while providing education and reminders of the importance of hand washing to reduce and prevent infections.

Effective hand hygiene helps combat healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) that, in the United States, affect about one in every 20 patients, and kill and estimated 100,000 people each year. Physicians and healthcare workers recognize that proper hand-hygiene can have a substantial impact on the reduction of infections and result in increased safety for patients, healthcare workers and themselves. Leadership, like that provided by this year’s Lathem Award recipients, is a critical key to combating HAIs and saving lives.

Nominations for the Lathem Award were made by colleagues who observed the nominee’s leadership and quality practices.

 

Dr. Kenyon calls it a career–again

Meet Dr. C. Francis Kenyon, who has practiced nearly four decades at the Willamette Valley Medical Center’s McMinnville Family Medical Center. Click here to read more.

 

Erik Swensson, MD, Makes List of 100 Nominees for “50 Most Influential Physician Executives in Healthcare”

Dr. Erik Swensson, Chief Medical Officer for Capella Healthcare, has been selected as one of 100 nominees from which the “50 Most Influential Physician Executives in Healthcare” will be chosen.

Modern Physician and sister publication Modern Healthcare co-sponsor this annual recognition program. Reader nominations were used to create the final ballot for the competition. Readers were asked to vote for one of 100 physician executives on that ballot earlier this year. Readers’ votes will count for 50% of the outcome with the other 50% coming from the expert opinions of the senior editors at Modern Healthcare and Modern Physician.

The final rankings will be published in the April 23^rd issue of both Modern Healthcare and Modern Physician magazines.

To read more about all of the nominees, click here>>

Dr. Swensson was named Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Capella Healthcare in January of 2011.  The position was structured so that Dr. Swensson, a surgeon, is also able to continue practicing medicine part-time while serving simultaneously in the corporate leadership role.  He is a vascular and general surgeon affiliated with Willamette Valley Medical Center (WVMC) in McMinnville, OR, which has been a part of Capella Healthcare since February 2008.

 

Local Doctor Named to ‘Best Doctors In America’ List

Dr. Braden Richmond, M.D., who practices at Jacksonville Medical Center and serves on the Board of Trustees, has been named one of the Best Doctors in America® for 2011-12. The prestigious recognition brings great honor to Dr. Richmond, Jacksonville Medical Center and the Jacksonville, Alabama community.

The highly regarded Best Doctors in America® List, assembled by Best Doctors, Inc., results from exhaustive polling of over 45,000 physicians in the United States. In a confidential review, current physician listees answer the question, “If you or a loved one needed a doctor in your specialty, to whom would you refer?” Best Doctors, Inc. evaluates the review results, and verifies all additional information to meet detailed inclusion criteria.

Best Doctors has earned a sterling reputation for reliable, impartial results by remaining totally independent. Doctors cannot pay to be included in the Best Doctors database, nor are they paid to provide their input. The List is a product of validated peer review, in which doctors who excel in their specialties are selected by their peers in the profession.

“I was honored when I found out about the award,” says Richmond, “I actually found out through a family member that saw the listing in the Birmingham News. Once I found out that for this award you must be nominated by other physicians, then anonymously reviewed for your quality of care by LOTS of physicians who are currently top doctors, and finally recognized if you meet the standard of those already recognized as the “Best Doctors”. So this award means a lot to me.”

 

Muskogee’s Timothy Holder, MD, recognized for contributions to advancing continuing medical education programs

The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME®) recently announced that the 2011 Rutledge W. Howard, MD, Award for Individual Service to the Intrastate Accreditation System has been awarded to Timothy Holder, MD.  Dr. Holder is a family practice physician/ obstetrician who is on the medical staff at Muskogee Regional Medical Center and is employed by Maternal-Family Practice Associates.

The award recognizes Dr. Holder for his contributions and commitment to advancing community-based continuing medical education (CME) programs and the intrastate accreditation system. Dr. Holder was nominated for the award by the Oklahoma State Medical Association (OSMA) where he has served as chair of the OMSA Accreditation Review Committee since 2005, and has been a member of the Committee since 1997. He has served on the ACCME Board of Directors since 2009; currently serving as Vice-Chair of the Board’s Quality Improvement Committee. He has been a member of the ACCME Committee for Review and Recognition since 2006, currently serving as co-chair, and has also volunteered as an ACCME recognition surveyor and an OSMA accreditation surveyor.

Among his many achievements, Dr. Holder initiated a statewide, collaborative endeavor to address important Oklahoma health issues and improve patient care through the application of the ACCME 2006 Accreditation Criteria. The collaborative effort included OSMA, its intrastate accredited providers, and other stakeholders such as the Oklahoma State Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision, the Oklahoma Hospital Association, and the Oklahoma Commissioner of Health.

Dr. Holder will receive his award during a presentation lunch at the ACCME State/Territory Medical Society Conference, scheduled for December 6-7, 2011, in Chicago.  To learn more about this award, visit this section of the ACCME website.

Southwestern Physician appointed to National Survey Team for Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society

Gregory K. Morton, III, M.D., is the only physician in Oklahoma to be appointed to the exclusive Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS) national survey team.   The UHMS is an international, non-profit organization serving more than 2,400 members from 50 countries. The society is the primary source of scientific information for diving and hyperbaric medicine physiology worldwide and the only national organization performing accreditation surveys for hyperbaric therapy centers.

Dr. Morton is currently the Hyperbaric Safety Director at Southwestern Medical Center, having served in this role at SWMC’s Center for Wound Healing and Hyperbarics since 2007.  He recently completed UHMS surveyor training in Texas last month and has been chosen to serve on the UHMS survey team as the only physician in Oklahoma.  Dr. Morton will play an integral role in the hyperbaric chamber accreditation process across the United States. Survey teams consist of three members, including one hyperbaric trained doctor, one hyperbaric trained nurse and one certified hyperbaric technician.

When a hyperbaric oxygen center is invited to participate in the accreditation survey process, the UHMS sends the three-person team of experts to the facility to examine staffing and training, equipment installation, operation and maintenance, facility and patient safety, and standards of care.

“SWMC commends Dr. Morton on his prestigious accomplishment.  His appointment to the UHMS survey team is another example of exceptional service and quality care you and your family can expect from our team of experts at the Center for Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Medicine,” stated Steve Hyde, FACHE, Chief Executive Officer of Southwestern Medical Center.

Physicians Elected to School Board in McMinnville Oregon

Two physicians on the medical staff of Willamette Valley Medical Center were recently elected to the school board.  Scott J. Gibson, MD, gastroenterologist, and Scott Schieber, MD, family practitioner, both newcomers to politics, won seats on the McMinnville School Board by significant margins.

Victoria Damba, DO, Installed as President of MAOPS

Victoria Damba, DO, of Farmington was recently installed as President of the Missouri Association of Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons (MAOPS). A hospitalist at Mineral Area Regional Medical Center (MARMC), Dr. Damba represents the hospital’s medical staff on Capella Healthcare’s National Physician Leadership Group.

Dr. Damba will lead the state organization for osteopathic physicians, also an affiliate of the American Osteopathic Association, during the next year. She was installed as President by her husband, Dwayne Damba, DO, who is also on MARMC’s medical staff.

As part of her duties, Dr. Damba will travel to the organization’s sixteen affiliate districts. The purposes of the visits include (1) informing members throughout the state of the activities of their state professional organization, and (2) to hear and address the concerns of osteopathic physicians in Missouri. She will also lead the Missouri Delegates to the American Osteopathic Association’s House of Delegates in Chicago this summer. During the AOA’s House of Delegates, the AOA’s policy making body for the national association, Dr. Damba will be responsible for ensuring that the voice of Missouri’s almost 3,000 osteopathic physicians is heard.

Dr. Damba has been active in MAOPS all of her career, serving on virtually every committee, Dr. Damba graduated in 1997 from A.T. Still University – Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Dr. Damba talks about her approach to medicine in this interview with the CEO of MARMC:

 

Four Decades Of Compassion

Dr. Lionel Naylor was honored for “four decades of compassion” by Parkway Medical Center when CEO Tim McGill presented him with the first annual “Baugh Wiley Smith Physician Achievement Award” during the hospital’s Doctors’ Day festivities on March 30.

Dr. Naylor knew he wanted to become a physician when – as a high school senior – he watched his father suffer and die from tongue cancer. “I had always been interested in medicine, but after seeing what he went through, I knew wanted to help people.”

A Louisiana native and son of a nurse, Dr. Naylor came to Decatur in 1968, selecting the area because some of his medical school colleagues were already in practice there. He specializes in general and vascular surgery.

One of his partners Dr. Bill Manifold said it’s difficult to find a family in the area in which Dr. Naylor hasn’t operated on a mother, father, grandparent or uncle. “And, he’s done it with true high quality,” Dr. Manifold said. “I’ve never heard him whine, even when he was up all weekend. There is not a more deserving person. He’s set the standard for general surgical care in this area, and that’s going to be here forever.”

The following medical staff members affiliated with Capella hospitals throughout the country have recently been recognized.

 

Dr. Angela Bowen, a member of the Board of Trustees for Capital Medical Center (Olympia, WA), has received the leadership in human protection award from the World Health Organization.  Since she founded the Western Institutional Review Board in 1968, it has grown to become one of the largest IRBs in the world, with research sites in all 50 states and 30 companies. WIRB reviews hospital, individual and university medical and scientific research projects. WIRB moved into an $8 million, four-story medical office building in March of 2009. Up until 1991, Dr. Bowen also had her own endocrinology practice.

The Willamette Valley Medical Center Cancer Center has been renamed the H. R. Hoover, MD Cancer Center in honor of Dr. H.R. “Joe” Hoover, who passed away in November at the age of 61. A general surgeon, Dr. Hoover was a devoted medical staff member at WVMC for 25 years. He served as Chair of the Cancer Committee and Interim Chief of Surgery and Anesthesia, volunteering his services on several other hospital committees and medical staff projects and never turned down an opportunity to improve patient care.

“Dr. Hoover was a humble, private man who did not seek any recognition for his contributions,” said CEO Rosemari Davis. “He loved his work and the numerous individuals who shared his passion for medical care. He believed in service and offering a helping hand to those in need, including strongly supporting education. He was a integral part of our community and medical family and he will be remembered by colleagues, staff, and patients alike.”

Dr. Owen L. Kelly, an orthopedic surgeon with Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center (Russellville, AR) has been named to the “Top 40 under 40.”  He serves as a volunteer team physician for Arkansas Tech University Women’s Athletics and a Cyclone Turf Project donor for Russellville High School.

Dr. David Nelson, an obstetrician-gynecologist with Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center (Russellville, AR) has been named to the “Top 40 under 40.” He serves on the steering committee of The Call (children of Arkansas Loved for a Lifetime) of Pope County. The CALL’s mission is to educate, equip and encourage the Christian community to provide a future and a hope for the children in foster care.