Spectrum Health Medical Group Names Chief Medical Officer

Richard Freeman, MD, FACP, has been selected to serve as chief medical officer for the Spectrum Health Medical Group starting today.

“We are very pleased that Dr. Freeman has agreed to take on this critical role for the medical group,” said James M. Tucci, MD, MMM, president, Spectrum Health Medical Group. “His appointment affirms our commitment to building a multispecialty group of physicians, led by physicians.”

Dr. Freeman, a general internist, was most recently senior vice president and affiliate leader of the Rochester General Medical Group, one of seven affiliates of the Rochester General Health System in Rochester, New York. His career in health care management includes serving as medical director of a practice in Baltimore, Maryland and becoming chief medical officer at University Hospital in Brooklyn, New York.

After the terrorist attacks of 9/11, Dr. Freeman joined the New York University School of Medicine as assistant professor of medicine where he also led the Center for Health Information Preparedness. At the center, he directed the design, development and implementation of a national model curriculum for continuing medical education in psychosocial aspects of bioterrorism and disasters.

Dr. Freeman earned his medical degree from the University of Maryland School of Medicine and served his residency at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland. He also holds a Master of Public Health and a Doctor of Science in epidemiology from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Heath.

The Spectrum Health Medical Group employs more than 90 physicians and mid-level providers, including nurse practitioners and physician assistants.

Spectrum Health is a not-for-profit health system in West Michigan that offers a full continuum of care through the Spectrum Health Hospital Group, a collection of seven hospitals and more than 140 service sites; the Spectrum Health Medical Group, a multispecialty team of nearly 100 providers; and Priority Health, a health plan with nearly 500,000 members. Spectrum Health’s 14,000 employees, 1,500 medical staff members and 2,000 volunteers are committed to delivering the highest quality care to those in medical need. The organization provided $111.1 million in community benefit during its 2008 fiscal year. As a system, Spectrum Health has earned more than 100 awards during the past 10 years.