PORTLAND, Ore., July 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon, the state’s largest health-insurance carrier, has named Corvallis Clinic chief executive officer Ralph Prows, M.D., vice president and chief medical officer. Prows will be located in the company’s Portland office.
“Dr. Prows has an outstanding reputation for innovation and excellence among providers, patients and the community,” said Dr. Jeff Robertson, The Regence Group’s chief medical officer. “He is committed to improving the health-care system, and his philosophy aligns with our vision of how Regence can lead the way toward positive change.”
In his new role, Prows is responsible for the direction and coordination of health-care services to all lines of business and products offered by Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon. He will also direct the development and implementation of medical management activities for Oregon and has shared accountability for medical management functions across The Regence Group.
Prows has more than 20 years of experience as a practicing physician and health-care executive. As chief executive officer of the Corvallis Clinic for the past 11 years, he has led an organization of 80 physicians and 560 employees at the largest multi-specialty clinic in the mid-Willamette Valley. Under his guidance, the clinic was selected 2002 Business of the Year and Prows received a Special Achievement Award for Business from the Corvallis Area Chamber of Commerce. For the past three years, he has served as chairman and president of the Northwest Physicians Association in Corvallis, Oregon, an independent practice association of approximately 150 physicians that he was instrumental in organizing. Prior to joining the Corvallis Clinic, Prows held executive positions with Central Massachusetts Health Care, Inc.
Prows earned a medical degree from Tulane University School of Medicine and completed his residency in internal medicine at Ochsner Foundation Hospital in New Orleans. He is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and has current state medical licenses in Massachusetts and Oregon. An active member of the community, Prows serves on the Corvallis Corporate Roundtable and was recently named president of the board of directors of the Corvallis Area Chamber of Commerce. He has served on the Corvallis Public School Foundation’s board of directors and as a volunteer physician at the medical clinic at Community Outreach, Inc., a Corvallis safety-net clinic. He also helped to establish medical clinics in Ciudad Acuna, Mexico.
Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon provides medical, dental and related coverage for about one million members in Oregon and in Clark County, Washington. It’s part of The Regence Group, the largest affiliation of health plans in the northwest and intermountain states, collectively covering nearly three million people. In 2003, the Regence companies generated net premium revenues of $6.7 billion and ended the year with more than $1.1 billion in reserves. The Regence Group and its affiliated Plans are independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Nearly one in three Americans has health-care coverage through Blue Plans.
Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon
CONTACT: Angela Hult, Regence Strategic Communications, +1-503-412-7902,or aehult@regence.com
Web site: http://www.bcbso.com/