Nashville, Tennessee-based HCA Healthcare on Monday announced the system had promoted Dr. Michael Cuffe to chief clinical officer and executive vice president.
Beginning Jan. 1, Cuffe—who joined HCA Healthcare as president and CEO of physician services in 2011—will lead the clinical agenda for the for-profit hospital chain's 183 hospitals and roughly 2,000 ambulatory care sites. That includes leading the system's clinical quality, nursing, care transformation and clinical informatics teams, as well as continuing his oversight of physician services.
He replaces Dr. Jonathan Perlin, who last month announced that he would leave HCA Healthcare to become president of the Joint Commission. Perlin had held the roles of president of clinical operations and chief medical officer at HCA Healthcare, which he will continue to serve in through year-end.
"[Cuffe's] clinical background, passion for clinical excellence and proven leadership at HCA Healthcare make him the right person to support our caregivers, integrate services across the organization and advance our clinical quality agenda," said Sam Hazen, HCA Healthcare's CEO, in a news release Monday.
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Cuffe has supported HCA Healthcare in becoming one of the largest sponsors of graduate medical education programs in the U.S. over the last 10 years, according to the news release.
Before joining HCA Healthcare, Cuffe served as vice president for ambulatory services and chief medical officer at Duke University Health System in Durham, North Carolina. He previously held roles as vice president for medical affairs at Duke University Health System and vice dean for the Duke University School of Medicine.
He has a medical degree and MBA from Duke University, where he also completed a residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in cardiology.
HCA Healthcare last week reported $15.3 billion in revenue for its third quarter, up 14.8% year-over-year, and $2.5 billion in net income for the quarter, up from $779 million reported in the year-ago period.