MHA Convenes Physician Executives And Coordinates Visit To State Capitol
The Missouri Hospital Association’s Physician Executive Group met for the first time this year, and during their visit to Jefferson City, Mo., on March 3, they visited with state legislators at the Missouri Capitol.
This group of MHA-member hospital chief medical officers and physician leaders started their day hearing about public health updates from Heidi B. Miller, M.D., chief medical officer with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, and meeting Mindy Laughlin, new director of the DHSS Division of Regulation and Licensure.
Attendees also learned about updates regarding the Rural Health Transformation Program and discussed workforce retention challenges and opportunities, including funding for medical school clerkships through Missouri’s new Rural Health Transformation Office.
“MHA convenes physician executives to create a dedicated forum where clinical leaders from across the state can learn together, exchange real-world experiences and collaborate on emerging challenges,” said MHA Division Vice President of Membership Services Brett Moorehouse. “By bringing these executives into one room, we strengthen clinical leadership, accelerate innovation, and ensure that hospitals are aligned in improving care quality, patient safety, and system performance statewide.”
In the afternoon, the physician leaders took part in legislative visits with their respective state lawmakers. Topics discussed included prior authorization reforms, physician licensure reforms, the role of advanced practice nurses, emergency department staffing models, managed care denials and delays, and 340B protections.
The following Missouri hospital physician executives attended the meeting.
- Nitin Anand, M.D., Missouri Baptist Medical Center
- Adam J. Fritz, M.D., SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital
- Alex Garza, M.D., SSM Health
- William M. Gilbirds II, M.D., Saint Luke's North Hospital - Barry Road
- Chakshu Gupta, M.D., Liberty Hospital
- Randall D. Haight, M.D., MU Health Care's Capital Region Medical Center
- Laura Kristy Haggett, D.O., SSM Health St. Joseph Hospital - St. Charles
- Zafar Akram Jamkhana, M.D., SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital/SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital - St. Louis
- Sean Kumer, M.D., The University of Kansas Health System
- Alexandre Lacasse, M.D., SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital - St. Louis
- Sonia Melkaveri, M.D., SSM Health St. Joseph Hospital - Lake Saint Louis
- Shawn Usery, M.D., CoxHealth
- Sriram Vissa, M.D., SSM Health DePaul Hospital - St. Louis
- Stevan P. Whitt, M.D., MU Health Care
- Lana Zerrer, M.D., Boone Hospital Center
- Nadia Zia, M.D., Barnes-Jewish St. Peters Hospital
The Missouri Hospital Association is a nonprofit association in Jefferson City that represents 136 Missouri hospitals. In addition to representation and advocacy on behalf of its membership, the association offers continuing education programs on current health care topics and seeks to educate the public about health care issues.