Marie Savard, MD, Nationally Renowned Health Expert Joins NewCourtland Network As Medical Director

PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 2 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NewCourtland, a leading long-term care provider of community services, affordable senior housing, nursing homes, education and workforce development, announced that health expert Dr. Marie Savard, has joined its Network as corporate medical director.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100202/DC48236)

As corporate medical director, Dr. Savard will serve as the chief medical advisor to NewCourtland's Board of Trustees and will represent the physician's perspective on the senior management team.   Dr. Savard will coordinate and oversee all medical care and clinical standards in use throughout NewCourtland's Network, which today encompasses seven nursing homes, a growing number of home and community-based services including its home health agency, telehealth company, a LIFE program which is modeled after the nationally renowned PACE program, and an adult day center slated to open in the spring of 2010.

"The addition of Dr. Marie Savard to the NewCourtland Network marks an important next step in our ability to maintain the highest quality of care for the growing number of elders we serve," said Gail Kass, President and CEO of NewCourtland.  "Her wealth of experience and knowledge as well as her common-sense approach will prove to be an invaluable asset."

An ABC News Medical Contributor and frequent keynote speaker, Dr. Savard is one of the most trusted voices on health, wellness and patient empowerment. She is the author of four books including, "How to Save Your Own Life: The Savard System for Managing--and Controlling--Your Health Care," "The Body Shape Solution to Weight Loss and Wellness," and "The Savard Health Record."

With nearly 35 years of experience in the field of health care, Dr. Savard is a tireless advocate for patient empowerment. She developed a health information management system that teaches patients, specifically those with chronic conditions, how to manage and control their health care by equipping them with resources to maintain their own health records.

Dr. Savard earned both a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing and a Medical Degree at the University of Pennsylvania where she is currently a Trustee. She was formerly the director of the Center for Women's Health at the Medical College of Pennsylvania, technical advisor to the United Nations' Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, advisor to the American Board of Internal Medicine Subcommittee on Clinical Competency in Women's Health, a health columnist for Woman's Day magazine and senior medical consultant to Lifetime Television's Strong Medicine.

Along with all of the other posts that she has held, Dr. Savard served as the Director of Quality Management for Pennsylvania Hospital, and acted in the capacity of Medical Director at Cabrini Nursing Home from the 1980's until its close this year.

In addition to providing commentary for Good Morning America, Dr. Savard has made numerous television appearances on national networks including an interview on The Oprah Show.  Additionally she provides up-to-date health information through her website www.DrSavard.com, the Ask Dr. Marie Healthy Dose newsletter and on the health page of ABC News.com.

Dr. Savard lives in Philadelphia with her physician husband and has three adult sons.

About NewCourtland

NewCourtland serves as a leading non-profit provider of community services, affordable senior housing, nursing homes and innovative programming that support new models of care by combining highly trained, compassionate and friendly staff, with easy-to-use assistive technology and supportive services to meet the needs of the nation's growing aging population. For more information, visit www.newcourtland.org or call 1-888-530-4913.

SOURCE NewCourtland