Gary R. Yates, M.D., Chief Medical Officer for Sentara Healthcare, has been selected to receive the 2005 Physician Executive Award of Excellence, co-sponsored by Modern Physician magazine and the American College of Physician Executives.
Yates is a board-certified family physician and fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians who works with 2,500 physicians on staff at Sentara. He is also responsible of overseeing continued clinical integration and quality measures, disease management, medical care management and Sentaras community health and wellness programs.
"Dr. Yates has been instrumental in creating an award-winning culture of safety at Sentara," said Howard P. Kern, President and Chief Operating Officer of Sentara Healthcare. "We appreciate his leadership and commitment to clinical excellence and are please to see him recognized nationally among his peers."
Yates previously served as Sentaras Executive Medical Director for Clinical Effectiveness. He oversaw an award-winning culture of safety program, piloted at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, which was recognized with the American Hospital Associations 2004 Quest for Quality Prize.
Yates will be profiled in the April issue of Modern Physician, published quarterly by Modern Healthcare, and honored at the American College of Physician Executives (ACPE) spring institute to be held May 20-25 in Boston.
Before joining Sentara, Yates served as chairman for the department of family and community medicine and chief quality for Maricopa Health Systems in Phoenix, Arizona. He currently serves on the board of Virginians Improving Patient Care and Safety (VIPCS), the statewide patient safety consortium for Virginia.