Mathews Takes on New Leadership Role for Network Physician Organization

August 17, 2016 by Jennifer Nachbur

Claude Deschamps, M.D., president and CEO of the University of Vermont Medical Group, has announced that Donald Mathews, M.D., professor of anesthesiology, has accepted the position of physician advisor for the UVM Health Network’s new Physician Organization (PO), an expansion of the UVM Medical Group.

Donald Mathews, M.D., Professor of Anesthesiology and Physician Advisor, UVM Health Network Physician Organization. (Photo: COM Design & Photograph)

Claude Deschamps, M.D., president and CEO of the University of Vermont Medical Group, has announced that Donald Mathews, M.D., professor of anesthesiology, has accepted the position of physician advisor for the UVM Health Network’s new Physician Organization (PO), an expansion of the UVM Medical Group.

In this new part-time position, Mathews will report directly to the PO president. Deschamps anticipates that the position will grow in stature, scope and time requirements after an initial start-up period. In addition to assisting the PO president in carrying out his multiple responsibilities, Mathews will work closely with other executives and senior physician leaders of the PO and in the UVM Health Network. He will also work with physicians throughout the region on quality, access issues and special projects. 

Mathews will be a member of the newly created PO Executive Planning Council, a group of leaders charged with advising Deschamps on overall strategy, initiatives to enhance the mission of the PO, specific strategies to accomplish the organization’s vision, and a range of policy, clinical service, and other issues. In addition to Mathews and Deschamps, members of the council also include Alison Guile, M.D., regional director of the CPI Practice Division; the physician leader of the Faculty Practice Division (to be determined); Howard Schapiro, M.D., chief integration officer; and Jeffrey Wasserman, executive director of the PO. 

A graduate of Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, Mathews trained in anesthesiology at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital and was recruited from St. Vincent’s Hospital in New York City to the UVM Medical Center in 2010 to serve as the Anesthesiology Residency Program director. He was promoted to professor in 2013 and currently serves as an at-large (elected) member of the UVM Medical Group Board and as a member of the board’s Nominating and Governance Committee. Mathews previously was co-leader of the Governance Workgroup of the UVM Health Network Clinical and Physician Integration Project in 2014-15.