The Camden Group is further expanding its services and geographic reach by adding another senior vice president to its team of advisors, and opening a new office on the East coast. The firm has hired James R. Smith to head its new division based in New York. Smith is a former senior executive at Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield and Greater Rochester Independent Practice Association.
Cardiothoracic surgeon David Yandell, MD, has joined the staff of Saint Thomas Hospital and Cardiovascular Surgery Associates. Mark Marsden, MD, was named medical director of St. Thomas Hospital Emergency Department. Plastic surgeon Robert Garza, MD, has joined the staff of Saint Thomas Hospital.
Nemours has appointed Raymond Remmer as practice administrator of Nemours Florida. Remmer will be responsible for managing and directing the three Nemours Children's Clinics in Florida (Jacksonville, Orlando, and Pensacola) in support of the physician staff while incorporating best practices that improve efficiency and ensure high-quality patient services. Most recently, Remmer served as director of administrative affairs for the office of the president from 2006-2009. Remmer replaces Bill Winder, who was appointed early last year to a newly created position of senior administrator of Nemours Florida.
David M. Cordani, president/CEO of CIGNA Corporation, announced his executive leadership team for the company. The appointments are effective immediately.
Solantic walk-in urgent care has appointed Charles R. Evans as chairman of the company's board of directors. Evans replaces Rick Scott, who co-founded Solantic with CEO Karen Bowling in 2001. In January 2009, Scott launched Conservatives for Patients' Rights, a media campaign to attack healthcare reform legislation. Evans has been a member of Solantic's advisory board for the past four years. He is president and CEO of Alpharetta, GA-based International Health Services Group, an enterprise that supports health services development in underserved areas of the world, including Kenya, Nigeria, Peru, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic.
President Obama said that Americans would see immediate benefits from an overhaul of the nation's health insurance system and he urged Congress to swiftly reconcile differences over the legislation so it could be signed into law in the coming weeks, the New York Times reports. In his weekly Saturday address, President Obama highlighted elements of the plan that would take effect soon after enactment of the bill, saying the law would allow people with pre-existing illnesses to be able to buy affordable insurance, children with pre-existing conditions would no longer be denied coverage, and small business owners who could not afford to cover employees would receive tax credits to buy insurance.