AAAHC Appoints New Board Officers and Directors

NAMES IN THE NEWS

AAAHC Appoints New Board Officers and Directors

OCTOBER 2019

The Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) in Skokie, Illinois, announced the appointment of new officers and election results for three new directors to its board of directors for 2020, according to an October 23 press release.

The new 2020 officers bring experience and expertise in patient-centric ambulatory care and a strategic focus to their leadership roles.

  • Ira Cheifetz, board chair, has more than 30 years of experience in the practice of oral and maxillofacial surgery. He received his Doctor of Medicine in Dentistry degree from Tufts University School of Dental Medicine and completed his residency at Hahnemann Medical College and Hospital. Cheifetz has contributed to the AAAHC governance for nine years and was instrumental in leading the design and transition to a new, more strategic AAAHC board structure. He has conducted numerous surveys on behalf of AAAHC. Additionally, he served on the board of trustees of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons for eight years, serving as the president of the association in 2009-2010.
  • Timothy J. Peterson, MD, chair-elect, is a primary care physician has more than 30 years' experience in private practice. He is a graduate of University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and completed his residency in family medicine at the University of Minnesota. Peterson was the president of the Frederic Clinic in Wisconsin from 1977 to 1987. He served at Thomas-Davis Medical Centers from 1987-1998 in Tucson, Arizona, where he held various roles, ultimately serving as president and chief executive officer. Subsequently, he served as medical director for Pima Health System from 1999 to 2006, was vice president of Medical Affairs for Bridgeway Health Solutions from 2006-2007, and served as chief medical officer of United Health Care Community Plan, overseeing the care for Arizona Long Term Care members. He works as a quality improvement consultant to the State of Arizona.
  • Arnaldo Valedon, MD, former ASCA Board member and immediate past board chair, received his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania and continued his training in anesthesiology and critical care medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, with sub-specialty training in pediatric anesthesia at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Since finishing his training, Valedon has provided outpatient anesthesia services almost exclusively. He is the medical director and director of anesthesia services at the WellSpan Health & Surgery Center in Hanover, Pennsylvania, and the president and chief executive officer of Knightstone Consulting Group. He is an active AAAHC surveyor and the immediate past president of the Society for Ambulatory Anesthesia.
  • David Shapiro, MD, secretary/treasurer, is an anesthesiologist with extensive experience serving as a department chair, medical director and board member for several ASCs. In addition, he has served as the national medical director on behalf of ASC management corporations, prior to establishing his consulting practice. Shapiro serves on the boards of the Florida Society of Ambulatory Surgery Centers and the Facility Guidelines Institute and is a past president of ASCA. He is also a board member of the Ambulatory Surgery Center Quality Collaboration.

“Our experience and dedication to patient safety will help AAAHC better serve ambulatory centers seeking to improve the quality of care they provide,” Cheifetz said in the release. “Our goal is to accelerate the organization’s efforts to develop peer-reviewed, evidence-based standards that move the needle on health care quality and best practice.”

The three elected directors present a diverse scope of knowledge, enabling AAAHC to focus on engagement and growth opportunities across an array of medical specialties.

  • W. Patrick Davey, MD, has practiced medical, surgical and cosmetic dermatology for more than 30 years. He has a business degree and is working in part-time and locums’ positions. He has been an active AAAHC surveyor for more than 20 years and engaged in AAAHC governance since 2003, including serving as chair in 2014-2015.
  • Robin J. Elwood, MD, has practiced anesthesiology at the University of Oklahoma for more than 25 years and is serving as the interim department chair. He has a strong interest in ambulatory anesthesia. In addition to working as a surveyor for AAAHC for the past three years, he has chaired the Accreditation Committee.
  • David N. Gans is a national authority on practice operations for the Medical Group Management Association. He has authored more than 125 journal articles, co-authored three books on practice management and was the principal investigator on numerous federal and foundation grants. Most recently, Gans served on the AAAHC Standards and Survey Procedures Committee and the Institute Quality Advisory Committee.

“Our elected board members bring a diverse set of talent, expertise, and experience to our organization’s governance,” said Noel Adachi, president and chief executive officer of AAAHC, in the release. “We value their commitment to improving patient care by strengthening AAAHC and fostering the '1095 Strong' quality every day philosophy.”