The MemorialCare Physician Society has elected Long Beach Memorial physician and patient safety advocate, Dr. James Leo, as its chair, hospital officials announced recently.
“I am honored and humbled to be elected to chair this illustrious group of physician leaders,” Leo said. “During my many years with MemorialCare, I have been profoundly impressed by the tremendous expertise and dedication of our physicians and staff, and their willingness to embrace evidence-based best practice medicine for the benefit of our patients. I am excited about the opportunities and challenges that lie before us in this new era of population health, and I take on leadership of the MemorialCare Physician Society knowing that I am surrounded by many deeply talented and engaged colleagues.”
The voluntary, physician-led organization, which celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2016, has a direct reporting relationship to MemorialCare Health System Board of Directors.
The society works with MemorialCare’s six hospitals and 200 care locations in Los Angeles and Orange counties, resulting in clinical outcomes that frequently exceed regional and national standards, according to a press release.
In his capacity as chair, Leo will advance the society’s efforts in developing and implementing clinical best practices, enhance technology that helps achieving best practice medicine and collection and reporting of clinical outcomes, the release stated.
He will also help expand education and publish materials that advance best practice medicine, assist doctors in optimizing patient care and involving patients in the decision-making process, and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of electronic medical records in hospitals, outpatient settings and doctors’ offices, it added.
“Dr. Jim Leo has been a remarkable leader at Long Beach Memorial and throughout MemorialCare Health System, embodying the highest standards of clinical quality,” said John Bishop, CEO of Long Beach Memorial, Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital Long Beach and Community Hospital Long Beach. “This has been clearly demonstrated through his leadership on many critical initiatives that advances our work in clinical outcomes, patient safety, wellness and best-practice, evidence-based medicine. Given his expertise, Jim is an excellent choice for this position.”
Leo is known for his work in disaster preparedness, developing an innovative physician disaster response system for use in community hospitals.
“This system, unique to MemorialCare, was published in the American Journal of Disaster Medicine and recognized by The Joint Commission for Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations as a “National Best Practice,” the release stated.
Leo has been on the Long Beach Memorial medical staff for 28 years, serving as the medical center’s associate chief medical officer and medical director of clinical quality from 2004 to 2011. He is a graduate from MIT, received his medical degree from UC San Francisco and completed residencies in emergency medicine and internal medicine at the UCLA and USC medical centers.
Above, left photo of Dr. James Leo courtesy of Long Beach MemorialCare.