Thursday, June 17, 2010 - Dr. Reginald Coopwood addressed Greater Memphis Chamber members today at Rhodes College at the Chamber’s “A Conversation With…” series (a quarterly series that allows chamber members to interact with community leaders).

Introduced by Dr. Kenneth Robinson, Memphis Shelby County’s Chief Health Officer, Dr. Coopwood serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Regional Medical Center at Memphis (The MED). Dr. Coopwood has been with The MED for just three and a half months.

Addressing the crowd of 150, Dr. Coopwood immediately declared his loyalty to his new hometown. “I lived in Nashville for 50 years but at just three-and-a-half months I feel like I am at home in Memphis,” said Coopwood.

“I am honored to be CEO of The MED – 175 years of providing service to citizens of Shelby County and the Region,” said Coopwood. “At a time filled with a lot of uncertainty, people questioned me whether it was the right thing to do to take the lead at The MED? I didn’t doubt this is where I needed to be.”

The MED is an acute-care teaching hospital that serves a six-state region within 150 miles of Memphis, Tennessee. Known best for its cutting-edge trauma and burn centers, but home to 50 areas of specialty, its focus is on providing patient-centric medical care and support in coping with traumatic illnesses, injuries and other high-risk medical conditions. In addition to trauma and burn centers, The MED’s ‘Centers of Excellence’ include: wounds, high-risk obstetrics, neonatal medicine, sickle cell and HIV/AIDs.

The MED plays an invaluable role in the community by serving the uninsured and underprivileged of Western Tennessee and surrounding states, specifically Mississippi and Arkansas.
Shelby County and the State of Tennessee have provided assistance to support The MED’s operations and ensure its vitality.

During a ‘Q & A’ with Dr. Coopwood, audience members asked if he had an opportunity to pull together his leadership team. Dr. Coopwood responded that when he arrived there was no ‘C’ level officers. He has almost rebuilt the entire executive team that will rebuild the organization.

Another question from the audience was how can other hospitals help The MED? Coopwood responded that there are other great healthcare organizations that can provide service to this community. “We need those partners to help create our vision.”

Coopwood was also questioned about people who have concerns about The MED’s quality. To those who have concerns, Coopwood responded: “As I told employees, I am not here to run a mediocre organization. It will be second-to-none in this community. I invite them to come and see and feel they will be impressed with the level of quality of today as well as the quality of the future.”

For more information on the Greater Memphis Chamber’s position when it comes to The Med, please visit VoteForMemphis.