Steven Spencer, MD, was chosen as the inaugural chief medical officer of Onslow Memorial Hospital in Jacksonville, N.C., the hospital said April 26.
Dr. Spencer most recently served as the director of population management for Abington - Jefferson Health, which includes Abington Hospital in Abington, Pa., and Abington – Lansdale Hospital in Hatfield Township, Pa. He also served as associate medical director for Delaware Valley Accountable Care Organization and practiced internal medicine in Abington.
In his new role, he will focus on physician engagement and provide his clinical perspective to Onslow Memorial, a 162-bed facility founded in 1944 and affiliated with Chapel Hill, N.C.-based UNC Health.
"We searched for months, in concert with our medical staff leadership and with the assistance of our incredible partners with UNC Health for the ideal candidate. Our goal was to find a dedicated physician leader who could represent the medical staff on important organizational and community issues. Given Dr. Spencer's background in population health, and his passion for quality improvement projects, not to mention his pleasant demeanor, I am excited at the opportunities that he will bring to our organization for the benefit of our medical staff and community at large," Dr. Penney Burlingame Deal, DHA, RN, president and CEO of Onslow Memorial, said in a news release.
Onslow Memorial said Dr. Spencer will continue to practice as an internal medicine physician, in addition to his CMO duties.
Dr. Spencer holds a medical degree from Brown Medical School in Providence, R.I., and a master's degree in public health focusing on healthcare management from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston.
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