August 15, 2024
Senior leaders will span both organizations to provide aligned strategy and expand clinical research.
Kansas City, KS – Senior leaders at The University of Kansas Health System and the University of Kansas Medical Center, which together form the region’s largest academic medical center, recently announced the decision to strengthen existing alignment between the two organizations.
“We recognize intentional and strategic alignment is the only way we will realize our shared vision,” said Douglas A. Girod, M.D., chancellor of the University of Kansas. “As we look at the future of health care – in treatments, in developing the workforce of tomorrow and in how our academic medical center impacts our region – now is the time to make the necessary structural changes to allow us to meet tomorrow’s needs and opportunities.”
To support greater alignment and to reach our shared vision of leading the nation in caring, healing, teaching and discovering, some senior leaders will have roles across both organizations.
“What makes academic medical centers different is the intersection of teaching, research and clinical care,” said Bob Page, president and chief executive officer of The University of Kansas Health System. “With aligned senior leadership at the health system, the medical center and the university, we have the opportunity to do things in new and different ways, which ultimately make us all stronger. This commitment to alignment and new structures will have impacts in the near term, but also for those who will continue to support and lead our organizations for years to come.”
Leadership appointments include:
- Steve Stites, M.D., will serve as executive vice chancellor for KU Medical Center and will continue his role as executive vice president for clinical affairs and chief medical officer for The University of Kansas Health System. Stites will work to foster a closer connection between the research and education functions of the medical center with the clinical care it ultimately supports, which is managed by the health system.
- Matthias Salathe, M.D., will serve as chief research officer for the University of Kansas, including the medical center. He will also serve as the chief research officer for The University of Kansas Health System. Salathe will be responsible for developing a research infrastructure spanning both organizations and increasing clinical trial opportunities.
- Talal Kahn, M.D., will serve as senior associate dean for clinical affairs for KU School of Medicine and will continue his role as president of The University of Kansas Physicians as well as vice president of physician affairs for The University of Kansas Health System. Kahn will align the missions of KU School of Medicine with the health system and help support the best environment for learners and research in the clinical setting.
- In addition, the health system announced Sean Kumer, M.D., will serve as senior vice president and chief medical officer for the Kansas City division of The University of Kansas Health System, and will continue his role in perioperative and procedural services.
While the two organizations have worked together for many years, this new structure will ensure open lines of communication, more advanced joint planning across our campuses, and constructive opportunities for informed discussions.
The trajectories of both the health system and the medical center have never been more promising. We’ve seen how when we work together, with intent, we are successful,” said Steve Stites, M.D., executive vice chancellor for KU Medical Center and chief medical officer and executive vice president for clinical affairs for the health system. “We are on the cusp of transformational innovations in treatments, driven by groundbreaking research and clinical trials. The pace of change has never been more rapid, or the opportunity so great to leverage our shared successes for even greater impact.”
One significant area of alignment will be the development of a robust and aligned clinical research infrastructure.
This emphasis on research will boost the academic medical center’s ability to recruit and retain top researchers, to become more competitive for research funding and to increase clinical trial opportunities for patients.
“Research and scientific exploration are fundamentally about having an open mind. It is the opportunity to explore what isn’t done today and consider what could be,” said Matthias Salathe, M.D., chief research officer for the University of Kansas and The University of Kansas Health System. “We have a research enterprise that has grown remarkably with a goal of being a national leader. This alignment, along with a commitment to organized and coordinated research across the university, medical center and health system, will help leverage resources across our organizations.”
Historically, the health system and medical center have collaborated, but not in a defined and broad way. This new arrangement opens the doors to additional areas of cooperation.
“We’ve achieved amazing things over the past 25 years,” said Tammy Peterman, president of the Kansas City division of the health system and executive vice president and chief operations officer for the health system. “We are already doing this in several areas, including cancer, IT, graduate medical education and research informatics. This new strategic alignment will create an organized structure and program to do even more, outside the silos we have today.”
As the two organizations continue developing this broader alignment, their shared vision and dedication to transform lives in the region and beyond demonstrate a commitment to the future.
“This announcement is about more than specific individuals,” said Page. “It is about a stated and shared commitment among our organizations, supported through new structures, which will foster greater collaboration for years to come. Ultimately, this will allow us to deliver even more on the promise of academic medicine.”