Mission Hospital Chief Medical Officer Expands Role

ASHEVILLE, N.C., Oct. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Mission Health today announced that Dale Fell, MD, previously Chief Medical Officer of Mission Hospital, will expand his role to System Chief Medical Officer and remain Senior Vice President of Mission Health. In this new role, Dr. Fell will be responsible for ensuring a consistency in medical staff and clinical processes across Mission Health.

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Dr. Fell has served as Chief Medical Officer of Mission Hospital since 2005 – a period in which Mission Health experienced tremendous growth. In light of this growth, Dr. Fell has been charged in his new role with supporting Mission Health's focus on "system-ness" across Mission Health members – by providing consistent leadership in healthcare quality, patient safety and clinical effectiveness. He will also serve as Mission Health's primary liaison with other "safety net" healthcare providers in western North Carolina, and continue a focus on research and education.

"Our BIG(GER) Aim is to get each patient to the desired outcome, without harm, without waste and with an exceptional experience," said Ronald A. Paulus, MD, President and CEO of Mission Health. "In order to ensure that we achieve this for each and every patient, we must achieve a consistency and synergy across all Mission Health members. Over the past year, I have been inundated with requests for Dr. Fell to spend additional time across the region. Dale has a long history of working with physician and community leaders and achieving exemplary results, and we look forward to his continuing his efforts on a broader level within Mission Health."

"Excellence in patient care requires, among other things, physicians who are working together in a concerted effort to develop consistently high quality levels of care and service," said Dr. Fell. "My goal is to serve as a system-wide resource, assisting the physicians and other clinicians across Mission Health to deliver exceptional patient care.  I'm delighted to reach out across the region to support our system-wide focus on our BIG(GER) Aim."

Dr. Fell earned his medical degree at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Ky. and completed his residency training in General Surgery and Plastic Surgery at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C. He currently serves as Board Chair at Mountain Area Health Education Center (MAHEC) and serves on the board of other organizations in Asheville, including Asheville Imaging Center, Asheville Specialty Hospital and Western North Carolina Community Health Services.

About Mission Health

Mission Health, based in Asheville, N.C., is the state's sixth-largest health system and the region's only not-for-profit, independent community hospital system governed and managed exclusively in western North Carolina. In 2012 Mission Health was named one of the nation's Top 15 Health Systems by Thomson Reuters – the only health system in North Carolina to receive this recognition.

Mission Health, which traces its roots in the region back to 1885, operates five hospitals, numerous outpatient and surgery centers, and the region's only dedicated Level II trauma center. Its medical staff consists of more than 1,000 physicians and is certified in over 50 medical specialties and sub-specialties. Mission Health has seven Centers of Excellence: Cancer, Heart, Mission Children's Hospital, Neurosciences, Orthopedics, Trauma and Women's Health. Mission Hospital, located in Asheville, is the system's flagship hospital and is licensed for 730 beds. It is the regional referral center for tertiary and quaternary care and is the busiest surgical hospital in North Carolina. It also includes Mission Children's Hospital – the region's only children's hospital. Other Mission Health member hospitals include Angel Medical Center in Franklin, Blue Ridge Regional Hospital in Spruce Pine, McDowell Hospital in Marion and Transylvania Regional Hospital in Brevard. With approximately 8,800 employees and 700 volunteers, Mission Health is dedicated to improving the health and wellness of the people of western North Carolina.

SOURCE Mission Health