CLEVELAND, Aug. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- After the completion of a national search, University Hospitals Health System announces that Achilles A. Demetriou, MD, PhD, FACS, chairman of the department of surgery, a renowned surgeon, endowed chair holder from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, and full professor at UCLA, will join UHHS in October as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.
“This is a milestone decision for us,” said Thomas F. Zenty III, President and CEO of UHHS. “This new position is an important next step in our growth as a health system, building on all the progress we have made over the past several years and further enhancing the operational effectiveness and efficiency of our entire health system. Dr. Demetriou has proven accomplishments in every dimension of healthcare, including superb medical staff skills and successful interaction with private practice physicians, full- and part- time faculty and physician delivery networks. Dr. Demetriou has been internationally recognized for his academic achievements, technology transfer accomplishments, clinical program growth and development, and board of directors’ relationships as a member of the board of the Cedar-Sinai Health System.
“University Hospitals Health System is entering an exciting phase of growth and programmatic development,” said Dr. Demetriou. “I look forward to working with the dedicated physicians and employees at UHHS to provide the highest quality healthcare to the communities UHHS serves.”
Prior to accepting this leadership appointment at UHHS, Dr. Demetriou served as the Chairman of the Department of Surgery at Cedars-Sinai and Director of its Liver Support Unit. He also served as a Professor of Surgery at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine and as Vice- Chairman of the school’s Department of Surgery.
Dr. Demetriou was instrumental in developing many innovative clinical programs that transformed Cedars-Sinai into one of the West Coast’s most prominent hospitals in an extraordinarily competitive health care environment.
“Dr. Demetriou has demonstrated his expertise as an accomplished physician, researcher, academician and businessman,” Christopher M. Connor, Chairman of the UHHS Board of Directors. “His unique skill set aligns perfectly with our needs as our health system evolves to meet the changing needs of our patients and our communities.”
“Dr. Demetriou is a respected leader in the medical community, as both a surgeon and an innovator,” said Dr. Rothstein. “I look forward to the opportunity to work with him, particularly in regard to his expertise in clinical program development and his ability to collaborate with our faculty and community-based physicians.”
Dr. Demetriou’s distinguished teaching and professional career has included a number of positions at Albert Einstein College of Medicine- Montefiore Medical Center in New York City, Vanderbilt University, and the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Nashville. He is recognized as a pioneer in the development of the bioartificial liver, a device that extends the lives of patients whose livers have failed. He performed extensive
research in liver cell transplantation and the role of defective genes in the development of cirrhosis and other liver abnormalities.
Dr. Demetriou is a member of numerous surgical and other specialty societies, serves on several editorial and scientific advisory boards, has an extensive publication record and has given lectures and presentations at major national and international meetings. His recent research has focused on the impact of novel robotic and non-invasive surgical technologies in the clinical setting.
Dr. Demetriou holds a medical degree from Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School in Jerusalem, Israel. After graduating from medical school, he accepted a research fellowship at the Biochemical Pharmacology Laboratory of the National Institute of Arthritis, Metabolism and Digestive Diseases; earned his doctorate in biochemistry from George Washington University, and completed a surgical residency at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Affiliated Hospitals.
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CONTACT: Rob Whitehouse of University Hospitals of Cleveland,+1-216-844-3825
Web site: http://www.uhhs.com//