Reginald Coopwood, MD, Named CEO of The MED Leading candidate Reginald Coopwood, MD, has accepted the job as CEO of the Regional Medical Center at Memphis (The MED). Coopwood will assume the position on March 1, during a pivotal time in the facility’s development. The MED made headlines last fall when the Board voted to close the Emergency Department if $32 million could not be raised to sustain the Memphis area’s largest public healthcare facility.

A MED Reprieve? Portal for Uninsured May Remain Open MEMPHIS—Shelby County Mayor Joe Ford and the Shelby County Commission may have come up with a way to keep the doors open to the Emergency Department of the Regional Medical Center at Memphis (The MED). LYNNE JETER

HEALTHCARE LEADERS: Kevin M. Spiegel – CEO Methodist University Hospital Kevin Spiegel joined Methodist University Hospital in March 2008 to help evolve the system in the rapidly changing world of healthcare. Since taking on the role as senior vice president and CEO of the hospital, he has ambitiously executed goals to expand the collaboration abilities of the hospital – including garnering an affiliation with Columbia University Medical Center’s Heartsourcesm to establish a Methodist University Hospital cardiothoracic surgery and cardiology quality assurance program. Methodist has also received center of excellence recognition for stroke and cardiac care, excellence in transplantation, and the robotic surgery program reached its 100th case. HOLLI W. HAYNIE

Bringing up the "O" Word Clinicians Still Struggle to Broach Subject of Weight My word, you're fat! Someone go see if Mr. Jones broke our scale. While no provider (at least none we know) would bring up the sensitive subject of weight in this manner, there are many who feel that no matter how carefully words are chosen, a patient will process them as something similarly offensive. CINDY SANDERS

Tackling Obesity in Kids Americans are junk food junkies. And our steady diet of fast food and sodas is costing us our health. Nowhere is that reality more evident than in America’s children, whose poor eating habits are resulting in an alarming rise in the prevalence of hypertension, Type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, and obesity. It’s a reality pediatrician Janice Pride-Boone, MD, sees everyday in her practice, where she specializes in the treatment of childhood obesity. JANE SCHNEIDER

Marketing a Specialty Practice to Other Docs A Practice's "Lifeblood," One Expert Says "Your most important asset." That's what one healthcare marketing expert called a specialty physician's referral base, and he said way too many specialists are failing to nurture the relationship between their practice and the doctors who send them business. SHARON H. FITZGERALD

Virginia Weaver, MD When a patient walks into Saint Francis Center for Surgical Weight Loss, they’ve already tried everything else. The typical patient could be male or female, and the ages range from kids to seniors. This is their last resort when they seek the services of Virginia Weaver, MD, medical director of the center. HOLLI W. HAYNIE