Southwestern Health Resources names senior executive officers

DALLAS, March 24, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Southwestern Health Resources, an integrated health care network formed by Texas Health Resources and UT Southwestern Medical Center, has appointed four senior executives to oversee joint clinical operations, a joint physician network, and a new population health services company that will respond to the challenges of the dynamic health care environment in North Texas.

The clinically integrated network was created last October to broaden and simplify North Texans' access to leading medical care by blending the strengths of two of the state's largest health care providers. The resulting Southwestern Health Resources aims to better serve patients by offering the complete continuum of care, from the most basic to the most complex. Dr. Daniel K. Podolsky, President of UT Southwestern and Barclay Berdan, FACHE, Chief Executive Officer of Texas Health, are serving as Co-Chairs of Southwestern Health Resource's Board of Directors.

The Southwestern Health Resources executives will maintain their current responsibilities with UT Southwestern and Texas Health, respectively, while taking on new leadership responsibilities including quality initiatives and physician engagement through the joint operating company and physician network. The population health services company will work to identify future health trends along with the resources and strategies to address them effectively and efficiently. The new leadership team includes:

John Warner, M.D., CEO of University Hospitals for UT Southwestern, has been named Senior Executive Officer of the joint operating company that oversees the network's three primary Dallas hospitals: William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital, Zale Lipshy University Hospital, and Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas.

Dan Varga, M.D., Chief Clinical Officer and Executive Vice President of Texas Health Resources, has been named the Senior Executive Officer of Southwestern Health's physician network.

Mack Mitchell, M.D., Associate Vice President for Population Health at UT Southwestern, will serve as the Chief Medical Officer of the physician network, working alongside Dr. Varga.

Bruce Meyer, M.D., M.B.A., Executive Vice President for Health System Affairs for UT Southwestern, has been named the Senior Executive Officer of Southwestern Health's Population Health Services Company, which will provide clinical and quality data, as well as the administrative and analytic services necessary to support the clinically integrated physician network and hospital network in providing cost-effective, high-quality outcomes for patients and their families.

"Higher value and easier access to all levels of care, including emerging therapies using the latest scientific discoveries, are what patients and their families expect of us – and what we expect of ourselves. These talented leaders will help us achieve our goal to offer coordinated, world-class care as we respond to changing market demands," said Mr. Berdan of Texas Health.

Dr. Podolsky of UT Southwestern agreed.

"These four physicians bring dynamic leadership to address the needs of patients and support the efforts of physicians and other caregivers throughout the network. Drs. Warner, Meyer, Varga, and Mitchell also possess the essential expertise to effectively manage large hospitals, physician groups, and clinical programs needed to successfully achieve the clinical, research, and educational as well as financial goals of this collaboration," said Dr. Podolsky, who holds the Philip O'Bryan Montgomery, Jr., M.D. Distinguished Presidential Chair in Academic Administration, and the Doris and Bryan Wildenthal Distinguished Chair in Medical Science.

Southwestern Health features 27 hospitals and 300 clinics throughout North Texas, as well as an expansive network of over 2,000 physicians, including UT Southwestern and Texas Health employed, university-affiliated, and independent physicians from both organizations. Physicians in the network can offer the full range of expertise in primary care and specialty care across a 16-county area with more than 6 million residents.

"The integrated network will benefit consumers and caregivers, without changing the relationship patients have with their physicians," Mr. Berdan said. "What will change is that patients are going to experience better coordinated care and more access to specialty services and clinical trials."

Patients benefit from access to the larger network of physicians and caregivers in a coordinated and consistent environment that ensures patient health and trust are always the central goal, Mr. Berdan said.

Patients, physicians, employers, and insurers will benefit from the network's improved efficiencies and quality initiatives, and the resulting improved outcomes and reduced redundancies, Dr. Podolsky said. "The network will foster expanded collaboration between physicians and care teams across the entire region, bolstered by the critical infrastructure needed to share best practices and leading-edge innovation," he said.

Formation of the network will not alter UT Southwestern's or Texas Health's existing relationships, specifically, Texas Health's relationship with the University of North Texas Health Sciences Center, and UT Southwestern's relationships with Parkland Memorial Hospital, Children's Medical Center Dallas, and Dallas Veterans Affairs Medical Center. UT Southwestern also remains committed to its affiliations with independent physicians, including those in the UT Southwestern Clinically Affiliated Physicians (UTSCAP) program.

"The network will enable our two organizations to thrive in the changing landscape of health care delivery, to adapt more readily, and to respond appropriately to our patients' needs and expectations," Dr. Podolsky said.

About Southwestern Health Resources
Southwestern Health Resources and its affiliated entities formed an integrated health network in December 2015 that blends the strengths of Texas Health Resources and UT Southwestern to better serve North Texas residents, from preventive care to the most advanced interventions. The network comprises 27 hospitals, 300 clinics, and over 2,000 physicians, spanning a 16-county service area with more than 6 million residents. The joint effort establishes a first-class organization with the scale and scope to provide leading-edge technology, research, and education, ensuring broader access to exceptional, quality care.

SOURCE Southwestern Health Resources