Ronald Paulus, MD, was recently named CEO of Mission Health System and Mission Hospital, both in Asheville, N.C., after an impressive five years with Geisinger Health System in Danville, Penn. As executive vice president of clinical operations at Geisinger, he was responsible for the operation of the system's $1.5 billion clinical enterprise, including two hospitals, a nearly 800-member multispecialty group practice and more than 40 ambulatory care facilities.
Dr. Paulus makes history with his appointment: He will be the first physician to assume a CEO position at Mission Health System and the first in North Carolina to lead a community-owned, not-for-profit health system.
In an interview with the Citizen-Times, Dr. Paulus expressed his excitement about his appointment at Mission Health System, saying that he expects it to be one of America's leading health systems during his tenure. "One of the things that attracted me to Mission Health System is the long history of collegiality and cooperation among the hospitals and physicians in western North Carolina to provide the best care close to home," he said. "This is one reason why the region continues to be ranked as among the nation's best for providing high quality, low cost care."
At Geisinger, Dr. Paulus also served as chief innovation officer, a role that tasked him to provide leadership, oversight and direction for Geisinger's patient-centered medical home model and chronic disease optimization approach, Geisinger's model to ensure safe and reliable transitions across care settings and compassionate end-of-life care and Epic, Geisinger's electronic medical record.
Before joining Geisinger, Dr. Paulus founded and served as president and CEO for CareScience, a clinical solutions and data analytics provider that aims to improve quality and efficiency of healthcare. He also served as vice president of operations at Salick Health Care, a national provider of oncology and dialysis services.
Dr. Paulus received his MD from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and his MBA from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School. He publishes and speaks regularly on healthcare quality and efficiency, innovation, physician leadership and new models of care.
Dr. Paulus makes history with his appointment: He will be the first physician to assume a CEO position at Mission Health System and the first in North Carolina to lead a community-owned, not-for-profit health system.
In an interview with the Citizen-Times, Dr. Paulus expressed his excitement about his appointment at Mission Health System, saying that he expects it to be one of America's leading health systems during his tenure. "One of the things that attracted me to Mission Health System is the long history of collegiality and cooperation among the hospitals and physicians in western North Carolina to provide the best care close to home," he said. "This is one reason why the region continues to be ranked as among the nation's best for providing high quality, low cost care."
At Geisinger, Dr. Paulus also served as chief innovation officer, a role that tasked him to provide leadership, oversight and direction for Geisinger's patient-centered medical home model and chronic disease optimization approach, Geisinger's model to ensure safe and reliable transitions across care settings and compassionate end-of-life care and Epic, Geisinger's electronic medical record.
Before joining Geisinger, Dr. Paulus founded and served as president and CEO for CareScience, a clinical solutions and data analytics provider that aims to improve quality and efficiency of healthcare. He also served as vice president of operations at Salick Health Care, a national provider of oncology and dialysis services.
Dr. Paulus received his MD from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and his MBA from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School. He publishes and speaks regularly on healthcare quality and efficiency, innovation, physician leadership and new models of care.