Immediate (November 27, 2006)
 
Mike Noble                                         
Fletcher Allen Public Relations
(802) 847-2886
 
Jennifer Nachbur
The University of Vermont College of Medicine
(802) 656-7875

Paul Taheri, MD, MBA, To Head Faculty Practice At Fletcher Allen and the University of Vermont

BURLINGTON, VT -- Fletcher Allen Health Care and the University of Vermont College of Medicine today announced that Paul Taheri, M.D., M.B.A., has accepted the position of president of the faculty practice at Fletcher Allen and senior associate dean for clinical affairs at the University of Vermont College of Medicine.

Dr. Taheri will relocate to Vermont from Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he is the director of Trauma Surgery at the University of Michigan Health System, the vice chair of Surgery for Hospital Affairs at the University of Michigan School of Medicine, and the associate dean for Academic Business Development at the School of Medicine.

In his new role as president of the faculty practice, he will lead the group of more than 480 physicians at UVM/Fletcher Allen and join Fletcher Allen's senior management team.  In his role as senior associate dean for clinical affairs, he will oversee the Office of Clinical Trials Research and Graduate Medical Education at the College of Medicine.  In addition, Dr. Taheri will continue to practice medicine, working as a general surgeon in the Department of Surgery, specializing in trauma, burns and critical care.

"Dr. Taheri brings a unique blend of medical knowledge and business acumen to our academic health center that is very exciting to us," said Dr. Melinda Estes, president and chief executive officer of Fletcher Allen.  "His collaborative leadership style and his innovative, entrepreneurial approach to the delivery of health care will help him succeed in this important role as president of the faculty practice."

"This is one of the top academic medical centers in the country," said Dr. Taheri. "The institution is moving forward in a positive direction with strong leadership, and I look forward to representing the physicians at this exciting point in the medical center's history."

Dr. Taheri, who will assume his position on March 1, 2007, received his master in business administration from the University of Michigan School of Business in 1999. A native of Buffalo, he earned his bachelor of science degree from St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY in 1984, and graduated from New York University School of Medicine in 1988.  He completed his residency training at Tulane University Medical Center in New Orleans in 1994.

Dr. Taheri has run the trauma service at the University of Michigan Health System for more than 10 years, and has been the vice chair of Surgery for the last four years.  In his role as associate dean for Academic Business Development at the Michigan School of Medicine, one of his primary responsibilities has been to foster leadership development for physicians, nurses and administrators.  To that end, he directs the "Leadership Development Program" - an annual 10-day leadership course offered to 50 professionals a year over the last five years. He also teaches a one-day physician leadership post-graduate course for the American College of Surgeons, and teaches a course to first- and second-year MBA students at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business, "Comprehensive Health Care Strategies."

His responsibilities at the Michigan School of Medicine also include oversight of technology transfer and intellectual property management.  In this role, he works with the University and physicians to help develop policies that foster entrepreneurial activities between the business community and the University faculty. He also is responsible for shaping the School of Medicine's relationships with vendors, including the school's relationship with Pfizer Inc., whose second biggest research facility in the world is based in Ann Arbor.

He is active in many national professional associations including the American College of Surgeons, American Burn Association, American Association for the Surgery of Trauma and the Eastern Association for Trauma.  He has published more than 60 papers in national and international journals and is a manuscript reviewer for several medical journals.