Personnel update: USA Health names Marie Katz executive director for Office of Marketing and Communications
USA Health has named Marie Katz as executive director for the Office of Marketing and Communications for the 7,000-employee academic health system. “As USA Health continues to expand along the upper Gulf Coast, we are delighted to have someone with Marie’s talent and experience leading our marketing and communication efforts,” said Owen Bailey, MSHA, FACHE, chief executive officer for USA Health and senior associate vice president for medical affairs. “I’m excited to see what the future holds as we continue to share the stories of the people and specialized healthcare services we bring to the region.” Katz joined the University of South Alabama’s health system in 2019 as creative services director, then transitioned to interim associate vice president in September 2022. During that time, the health system grew from fewer than 12 locations in two counties to more than 40 sites in two states, which includes the acquisition of Providence Hospital. In the new role, Katz will oversee all marketing and communications efforts for USA Health, which includes University Hospital, Children’s & Women’s Hospital, Providence Hospital, the Mitchell Cancer Institute, the Physician Enterprise, and the Whiddon College of Medicine. Her duties include leading strategic campaign development and media planning, creating communications and marketing strategies, and overseeing internal communications to complement and align with the goals of the health system and Whiddon College of Medicine. “Even before the pandemic dramatically changed some of the ways we reach patients and colleagues, Marie was working with our healthcare teams to establish innovative strategies that continuously demonstrate the unique role academic medicine plays in our community,” said John V. Marymont, M.D., MBA, vice president for medical affairs and dean of the Whiddon College of Medicine. “Along with her other talents, she has the ability to build and maintain relationships that are vital to our success.” Before joining USA Health, Katz was assistant director of creative services for the Office of Marketing and Communications at the University of South Alabama. For more than a decade, she owned The Paper Menu, growing it to a national wholesale business with more than 200 accounts. Previously, she served as art director for PMT Publishing’s Business Alabama and at Sullivan-St. Clair Advertising before it became Red Square. “I am honored to work alongside so many people who have a heart for serving others and who practice compassionate healthcare every day,” Katz said. “It’s also incredibly rewarding to lead a talented team of communications professionals who are eager to share our stories in such meaningful and compelling ways.” A graduate of the University of Alabama, Katz has earned regional and national recognition from The Telly Awards, Communication Arts, CASE, the American Advertising Awards (Addy’s), Lagniappe’s Nappies, and from the National Stationery Show. Her work has been featured in Oprah Magazine, Harper’s Bazaar, and Town & Country Magazine. USA Health is the only academic health system along the upper Gulf Coast. With more than 40 care delivery locations, including USA Health University Hospital, USA Health Children’s & Women’s Hospital, USA Health Providence, the USA Health Mitchell Cancer Institute, and physician practice sites throughout the area, the health system melds clinical care, research, and healthcare education into the most advanced medical care in the region.
USA Health names Deborah Browning new CEO for Children’s and Women’s Hospital
After a national search, Deborah Browning, MSN, RN, CENP has been named the new chief executive officer for USA Health Children’s & Women’s Hospital. She previously served as chief nursing officer beginning in 2021 and then interim administrator. “We have been so impressed with what Debbie has accomplished in the relatively short amount of time she has been in leadership positions at Children’s & Women’s Hospital,” said Owen Bailey, M.S.H.A., FACHE, USA Health CEO and senior associate vice president for medical affairs. “It was clear she is who we need leading our efforts to continuously provide high-quality and compassionate healthcare to the children and women on the Gulf Coast.” Prior to joining Children’s & Women’s Hospital, Browning served as chief nursing officer at Oklahoma Children’s Hospital in Oklahoma City. She has been responsible for women’s and/or children’s service lines at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital in Charleston, South Carolina. “With her extensive experience working within academic health systems, Debbie understands that evidence-based practices produce the best patient outcomes,” said John V. Marymont, M.D., M.B.A., vice president for medical affairs and dean of the Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine at the University of South Alabama. Since stepping in as interim administrator, she has overseen renovation and expansion efforts of the only pediatric emergency center on the Alabama Gulf Coast, among other initiatives. Plans call for the state-of-the-art space to open this winter. “I believe this is a time of unprecedented growth for our hospital,” Browning said, “and I look forward to leading the teams responsible for best meeting the healthcare needs of our community.” With a focus on family-centered care, Browning said her vision for the region’s only children’s and women’s hospital is to “create a space where our families have the best experience possible, and our staff feel valued and fulfilled in their roles.” Shannon Scaturro, M.S.H.A., M.S.N., CRNA, FACHE, chief operating officer for USA Health and assistant vice president for medical affairs, said he is looking forward to what the future holds for Children’s & Women’s Hospital with Browning at the helm. “It’s been exciting to see the work she’s done daily to enhance our quality and safety measures, something that is paramount in healthcare settings.” Among her accomplishments, Browning completed the American Organization of Nurse Executives Nursing Director Fellowship and serves on several AONL committees at the national level. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing from Spalding University in Louisville, Kentucky, and a master’s degree in nursing administration from the University of Phoenix. USA Health Children’s & Women’s Hospital, Alabama’s only free-standing inpatient facility dedicated to providing care to children and women, provides the most comprehensive services for children and women in the region. Home to the region’s only Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and high-risk obstetrics program, Children’s & Women’s also has the region’s only pediatric emergency department staffed 24 hours a day, every day, by specially trained physicians in pediatric emergency medicine.
USA Health names new chair for the Department of Internal Medicine
USA Health has appointed Nasser Lakkis, M.Sc.- M.D., FACC, as the new chair for the Department of Internal Medicine. A respected researcher, educator and clinician, he will officially join the region’s only academic health system in November. As chair of internal medicine, Lakkis will have oversight of departments including cardiology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, nephrology, infectious diseases, and others. “My vision for the department is to promote excellent patient care and quality education, and to elevate quality metrics,” he said. “These goals will require participation of every practitioner in our health system. I will encourage honesty, transparency, and constructive dialogue.” With more than 25 years of working in academic medicine, Lakkis said he is drawn to its innovative approach, which is also what interested him in the position at USA Health. “Although I have always been busy clinically, I had a natural gravitation to academic medicine since my early training years and, subsequently, as an attending physician,” he said. “Academic medicine ensures we stay up to date in practice, it helps maintain interaction with young students and trainees who bring new ideas and concepts into the practice of medicine, and it helps us to stay focused on the non-transactional aspect of patient care.” Lakkis will bring a well-rounded background in teaching, practice, research, and leadership to the internal medicine department. “USA Health’s continued goal is to be a premier academic health system providing unmatched medical care to the community as we train the next generation of physician leaders,” said John V. Marymont, M.D., M.B.A., vice president for medical affairs and dean of the Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine. “Dr. Lakkis will add a wealth of experience in research, teaching and leadership to further guide us in that direction.” “Dr. Lakkis has an established reputation of excellence in research, education and service,” said Owen Bailey, M.S.H.A., FACHE, USA Health chief executive officer and senior associate vice president for medical affairs. “We are excited that he will bring this experience and leadership to USA Health as we continue to advance our academic health system.” Lakkis is currently a tenured professor at Wayne State University (WSU) School of Medicine, where he is also the chief of cardiology at Wayne Health and Detroit Medical Center (DMC) Adult Hospitals. At WSU, Lakkis has established multiple programs at DMC Cardiology, including the Structural Heart Program and PERT program for percutaneous treatment of pulmonary embolus, and has worked closely with the Wayne Health clinic leadership to establish the foundation for subspecialty clinic. He is a member of the Medical Staff Operations Committee, Wayne Health clinical advisory committee, and the DMC peer review committee, among others. Before joining WSU, Lakkis served as chief of cardiology at Ben Taub General Hospital at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, since 2002, and the Temple and Spencer Chair in Cardiology. Throughout his tenure, he has been extensively involved in education and research. He began his academic career at Baylor College of Medicine as an assistant professor in 1997 and rose through the ranks of academia to become professor in 2007. He served as the program director for Cardiovascular Diseases and Interventional Cardiology Fellowship programs at the Baylor College of Medicine for more than 15 years. He graduated from the American University of Beirut with a degree in medicine. Then he completed a residency in internal medicine, a fellowship in general cardiology, and advanced interventional cardiology, all at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. USA Health is the only academic health system along the upper Gulf Coast. With 30 care delivery locations, including University Hospital, Children’s & Women’s Hospital, the Mitchell Cancer Institute, and physician practice sites throughout the area, the health system melds clinical care, research, and healthcare education into the most advanced medical care in the region.
