Newswise — Dr. Richard L. Gamelli, 61, a distinguished surgeon and dean of the Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine (Stritch), has been appointed senior vice president of Loyola University Health System (LUHS).
In this additional role, Gamelli will take part in high-level discussions related to the health system’s policies and strategic goals. Reporting to Paul K. Whelton, MB, MD, Msc, president & CEO of LUHS, Gamelli will collaborate with other health system leaders to advance LUHS’ goals in education, research and clinical care in a more fully integrated manner.
“I deem the senior vice president role to be critically important in helping us assure the long-term success of LUHS,” Whelton said. “I deeply believe that Dr. Gamelli has the vision, experience and determination to be successful in this new role and I have nothing but the utmost confidence that he will be so.”
As senior vice president and dean, Gamelli will facilitate the collaboration between Stritch and LUHS in the development and implementation of strategic plans and long-term goals. He also will serve as chairman of the Strategic Recruitment Committee, which is responsible for the recruitment, retention, assessment and career development of world-class faculty members.
On the clinical side, Gamelli will be responsible for supporting and guiding clinical department chairs and overseeing their overall evaluation and productivity. He will also be responsible for helping to enhance the system’s utilization of information technologies, fostering closer working relationships between research and clinical staffs and coordinating Stritch faculty in their mission critical roles throughout the Loyola system.
The system includes Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, the Loyola Center for Ambulatory Surgery at Oakbrook Terrace North in Oakbrook, Ill., RML Specialty Hospital, a facility co-owned by LUHS, and, adjacent to the main medical center campus, the Edward J. Hines Jr. VA Hospital, which has a cooperative research and patient care initiatives with LUHS.
“It is an honor to be asked to help guide the direction of Loyola University Health System, which has an excellent record of research, clinical care, education and community outreach,” Gamelli said. “I’m looking forward to working with my colleagues throughout the system to enhance the services we provide to the patients, families and students we serve.”
A resident of Burr Ridge, Gamelli joined Loyola in 1990 as chief of the Burn Center and the founder and director of the Burn & Shock Trauma Institute in the Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine (SSOM). In 1995 he became the Robert J. Freeark Professor and Chairman of the Department of Surgery, SSOM. Currently, Gamelli is a former member of the LUHS Board of Directors. In April 2009, Gamelli was appointed dean of SSOM, which is part of LUHS.
Gamelli is the 20-year chief of Loyola’s Burn Center and a world authority on the care of burn wounds and burn research. In 2002 Gamelli received the Faculty of the Year award from Loyola University Chicago. He was inducted as a faculty member in Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. He also delivered the commencement address to the Stritch School of Medicine in 2006. Most recently, he was elected to lead the Council of Clinical Chairs and was awarded the Ralph P. Leischner Master Teacher Award from the Stritch School of Medicine.
Gamelli is the editor-in-chief for The Journal of Burn Care and Research and is a past president of the American Burn Association, where he has been an active member since 1979. He recently was named a member of the Surgery, Anesthesiology and Trauma Study Section, Center for Scientific Review, of the National Institutes of Health. In addition, Dr. Gamelli has served as the associate editor of the Journal of Trauma and is a member of the editorial board of Annals of Surgery, Shock, Burns, and the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.
RSS