KNOXVILLE, Tenn., Aug. 29, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dr. Inga Himelright will join the senior leadership team at The University of Tennessee Medical Center Sept. 1 as senior vice president and chief quality officer. The move marks a return to the medical center for Himelright, who served in numerous capacities with the Knoxville hospital from 1991 to 2005. In her new position, Himelright will lead quality initiatives at the medical center by designing and implementing a vision and structure for the organization's quality improvement efforts.
"The addition of Dr. Himelright and this position on the senior leadership team will provide us a more specific focus on the continuous improvement in the quality of care we provide as we further establish the medical center among the nation's leaders in the delivery of healthcare," said Joseph R. Landsman, Jr., president and chief executive officer at The University of Tennessee Medical Center. "Dr. Himelright is an accomplished physician executive as well as a longtime friend of the medical center. We're pleased to have her on the team again."
Himelright comes to the medical center from BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, where she spent the past eight years, most recently as vice president and chief medical officer. She divided her previous 14 years at the Tennessee hospital between vice president and medical director, director of Infection Control and Epidemiology and private practice.
"In the few short years that I've been away, the medical center has made significant strides in its focus on quality and in its continued improvement in the care it provides," Himelright said. "I look forward to returning to this outstanding organization and to the challenges and rewards that accompany our quality improvement program on behalf of the patients we serve."
A graduate of the University of South Florida College of Medicine, Himelright went on to complete her internship and residency at the University of South Florida, as well as a fellowship in infectious disease and tropical medicine. She also earned her master's in public health in hospital planning and administration and her MBA from the University of Tennessee.
In her new role, Himelright will work extensively to provide leadership and consultation with the hospital's medical staff, Performance Improvement Department and Clinical Integration program as well as pre-acute and post-acute care providers as the leader of quality advancement. Her objective is to help the medical center achieve top tier performance.
The mission of The University of Tennessee Medical Center, the region's only hospital to achieve status as a Magnet® recognized organization, is to serve through healing, education and discovery. UT Medical Center, a 581-bed, not-for-profit academic medical center, serves as a referral center for Eastern Tennessee, Southeast Kentucky and Western North Carolina. The medical center, the region's only Level I Trauma Center, is one of the largest employers in Knoxville. For more information about The University of Tennessee Medical Center, visit online at www.utmedicalcenter.org.
A photo accompanying this release is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=20734
