Here are profiles of 28 great physician leaders. Each of these physicians is a speaker at the 18th Annual Ambulatory Surgery Centers Conference (Oct. 27-29; Chicago). Note: Physicians are listed in alphabetical order by last name.
John Atwater, MD. Dr. Atwater is a spine surgeon at Downstate Illinois Spine Center and McClean County Orthopedics, both in Bloomington, Ill. He treats a wide range of spinal conditions and performs many types of spinal surgery. He currently serves as a medical consultant to several medical device companies. He received his medical degree from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville and interned at John Hopkins University in Baltimore.
Kenneth Austin, MD. Dr. Austin is an orthopedic surgeon at Rockland Orthopedics & Sports Medicine in Airmont, N.Y. He received his medical degree from New York University School of Medicine and completed his surgical internship and orthopedic residency at the NYU/Bellevue Medical Center. His expertise includes treating traumatic and sports-related injuries of the upper and lower extremities, and hip and knee replacements.
Robert Boeglin, MD. Dr. Boeglin, an ophthalmologist, is the board president for Midwest Eye Institute in Indianapolis and co-founder of Health Venture Management, a company that develops surgery center partnerships between physicians and Clarian Health. Dr. Boeglin attended Indiana University for medical school and completed a glaucoma fellowship at Yale University. He joined Midwest Eye Institute in 1991 and maintained a medical and surgical practice for more than 10 years.
John Byers, MD. Dr. Byers is an otolaryngologist with the Surgery Center of Greensboro (N.C.) and Greensboro Ear, Nose and Throat Associates, where he has practiced since 1994. He has served on the surgical peer review and operating room committee for Greensboro-based Moses Cone Health System for 10 years and currently serves as medical director of the Surgery Center of Greensboro. He cares for all aspects of ear, nose and throat disorders.
John Cherf, MD. Dr. Cherf is an orthopedic surgeon, president of the Chicago Institute of Orthopedics, president of OrthoIndex and clinical advisor to Sg2, a healthcare intelligence and information services company. He has more than 20 years of clinical experience in orthopedics and sports medicine. He co-founded the orthopedic department at the Neurological & Orthopedic Institute of Chicago.
R. Blake Curd, MD. Dr. Curd is chairman of the board of directors of Sioux Falls, S.D.-based Surgical Management Professionals. He is an active proponent of physician ownership in healthcare and serves as a director for Physician Hospitals of America. He is also a manager for Medical Facilities Corp., which promotes physician ownership of healthcare facilities through partnerships.
Daniel C. "Skip" Daube, MD. Dr. Daube is the director and CEO of Surgical Center of Excellence in Panama City, Fla. He practices with the Gulf Coast Facial Plastics and ENT Center in Panama City and is on the clinical faculty at Tulane University Medical Center in New Orleans. Dr. Daube is board-certified in otolaryngology and facial plastic and reconstructive surgery and is a member of numerous professional societies.
Robin Fowler, MD. Dr. Fowler is a pain management physician and the executive director and owner of Atlanta-based Interventional Management Services. He has served as an advisor for pain management to several private insurance carriers and participated in several speaking engagements around the country. He is a member of the American Academy of Pain Medicine, national Pain Foundation and the American Pain Society.
Edward Glinski, DO, MBA, CPE. Dr. Glinski is the medical director at Heritage Eye Surgicenter of Oklahoma in Oklahoma City and is a specialist in refractive and cataract surgery. Aside from his clinical work at the surgery center, Dr. Glinski also serves as an accreditation surveyor for the organization Health Facilities Accreditation Program.
Stephen Hochschuler, MD. Dr. Hochschuler, founder of Texas Back Institute in Plano, has served as president of the Spine Arthroplasty Society and founding member of the American Board of Spinal Surgery. During his career, Dr. Hochschuler has served in leadership positions of several spine technology companies, including SpineMark and Innovative Spinal Technologies. He earned his medical degree at Harvard Medical School in Boston and served as a captain and major in the United States Air Force.
Richard Kube, MD. Dr. Kube is the CEO, founder and owner of Prairie Spine & Pain Institute in Peoria, Ill. He is a fellowship-trained spine surgeon who performs minimally invasive, motion-preserving surgical techniques, including sacroiliac joint surgery. He earned his medical degree from Saint Louis University School of Medicine and currently serves as a faculty member at the University of Illinois School of Medicine in Peoria.
Brent W. Lambert, MD, FACS. Dr. Lambert is the founder and CEO of Ambulatory Surgical Centers of America. He is a board-certified ophthalmologist and previously developed and owned three ambulatory surgical centers, including the first eye ASC in New England. Dr. Lambert is currently responsible for business development at ASCOA.
Brad D. Lerner, MD, FACS. Dr. Lerner is the clinical director at Baltimore-based Summit Ambulatory Surgery Centers. He has practiced urology for more than 20 years and has served as the clinical director of ASCs for 15 years. He was one of the first fertility specialists in Maryland and is highly experienced in urologic microsurgery. Prior to joining Summit, Dr. Lerner served as clinical director of Urologic Surgery Associates ASCs in Baltimore for 11 years.
Laximaiah Manchikanti, MD. Dr. Manchikanti is the CEO of Pain Management Center of Paducah (Ky.) and is also chairman of the board and CEO of the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians and Society of Interventional Pain Management Surgery Centers. He has been in private practice in Paducah since 1980, and has been instrumental in the preservation of interventional pain management. He earned his medical degree from Gandhi Medical College in India and completed his fellowship in anesthesiology and critical care medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
Bernard McDonnell, DO. Dr. McDonnell is a physician surveyor and team captain for Hospital Facilities Accreditation Program. Dr. McDonnell has experience surveying acute care hospitals, critical access hospitals, ASCs and stroke centers. He is a retired physician, having spent a large part of his career as an otolaryngologist in Philadelphia.
Alfred McNair, MD. Dr. McNair is a gastroenterologist who founded Digestive Health Center in Biloxi, Miss. He earned his medical degree at Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center in Denver and has practiced at several hospitals in Mississippi, most recently being Ocean Springs Hospital. He completed his medical and specialty training at Stanford (Calif.) University and Columbia University in New York City.
Keith Metz, MD. Dr. Metz is the medical director of Great Lakes Surgical Center in Southfield, Mich., which includes four ORs and one procedure room. He is a clinical anesthesiologist and he has served on the board of directors for the ASC Association. Dr. Metz earned his medical degree at Wayne State University in Detroit.
Charles Peck, MD, FACP. Dr. Peck is the president and CEO of Health Inventures, based in Broomfield, Colo. He has more than 30 years of healthcare experience as a clinician, internist, rheumatologist, scientist and other roles within the healthcare environment. As CEO of Health Inventures, he actively oversees the company's growth in outpatient surgery partnerships as well as physician practice management and inpatient perioperative management with hospitals and physicians.
Thomas J. Pliura, MD, JD, PC. Dr. Pliura is a physician and attorney at law with the company he founded, zChart, an electronic medical records-related company based on LeRoy, Ill. He has also served as founder and manager of four ASCs. In 1998, he sought and received the first favorable Medicare Advisory Opinion in the country, certifying that a proposed ASC was exempt from Stark Laws under a rural provider exemption.
Tom Price, MD. Dr. Price (R-Ga.) is a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's sixth congressional district and has served in that position since 2005. He is currently the chairman of the Republican Policy Committee. For nearly 20 years, Dr. Price worked in private practice as an orthopedic surgeon.
Michael R. Redler, MD. Dr. Redler is a founding partner of The Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Center in Fairfield, Conn. He is a fellowship-trained orthopedic sports medicine and hand surgeon. He serves as an orthopedic consultant to Major League Lacrosse and associate clinical professor for the department of physical therapy and athletic trainers at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Conn.
Herbert W. Riemenschneider, MD. Dr. Riemenschneider is the principal physician and urologic surgeon at Riverside Urology in Columbus, Ohio. He is also a clinical assistant professor of urology at The Ohio State University's College of Medicine and is the director of urologic education at Riverside Methodist Hospitals, both in Columbus. Dr. Riemenschneider performed the first prostate cryoablation in Ohio in 1993 and continues to perform the procedure today.
Michael E. Russell II, MD. Dr. Russell is a spine surgeon at Azalea Orthopaedics in Tyler, Texas. He currently serves on the board of directors and as president of Physician Hospitals of America and Texas Spine and Joint Hospital in Tyler. He earned his medical degree at the University of Southwestern Medical School in Dallas a completed a spine surgery fellowship at The Carolinas Medical Center at Charlotte (N.C.).
Steven Schuleman, MD. Dr. Schuleman is a board-certified anesthesiologist with CHRISTUS Health in San Antonio. Dr. Schuleman earned his medical degree at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio and completed a fellowship at Emory University Affiliated Hospitals in Atlanta.
David Shapiro, MD. Dr. Shapiro is a partner with Ambulatory Surgery Company, an ASC consulting company. In addition to his time as a practicing anesthesiologist, he has served on the board of directors for the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association and chaired the Florida Society of Ambulatory Surgery Centers. He holds designations as a certified professional in healthcare risk management and is certified in healthcare compliance.
John C. Steinmann, DO. Dr. Steinmann treats traumatic spinal injuries as well as degenerative problems of the neck and low back. He is the director of Spine Trauma at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Calton, Calif., as well as an assistant clinical professor at Western University. He is also an officer of Renovis Surgical Technologies, based in South San Francisco, maker of the S. 100 Pedicle Screw System.
Steven H. Stern, MD, MBA. Dr. Stern is vice president for Cardiac & Orthopedics and Neurosciences at UnitedHealthcare. He is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon, specializing in adult reconstruction. At UnitedHealthcare, he is responsible for issues relating to musculoskeletal care including joint arthroplasty surgery. He has more than 20 years of orthopedic surgical experience and has published multiple articles on total knee and hip arthroplasty.
Pedro Vergne-Marini, MD. Dr. Vergne-Marini is founder and managing member of Physicians' Capital Investments, which is based in Plano, Texas. It has developed and constructed 14 medical office and clinical facilities in just its first three years. More than 500 physicians have invested in PCI projects. The company currently has 11 projects in development or construction.
Learn more about the 18th Annual Ambulatory Surgery Centers Conference.