Dr. Selwyn Vickers to take over UAB Health System and UAB/Ascension St. Vincents Alliance – WVTM13 Birmingham

The UAB Health System has a new, but familiar, face at the helm!On Wednesday, it was announced that Dr. Selwyn Vickers, senior vice president for Medicine, has been named the CEO of both the UAB Health System and the UAB/Ascension St. Vincents Alliance. He is replacing Dr. Will Ferniany, who is retiring after leading the Health System for about 13 years.Vickers, a Demopolis native, will assume these positions while maintaining his current role as dean of the Heersink School of Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The selection of Dr. Vickers as CEO of both the Health System and the Alliance will ensure a seamless transition of executive leadership and an uninterrupted commitment to excellence, said UAB President Ray Watts, M.D. We are proud to have this extraordinarily talented team of leaders, who will elevate our ability to provide the best patient care for our community, state, region and nation.Vickers is a world-renowned surgeon, a pancreatic cancer researcher and a pioneer in health disparities research. He is also a member of the prestigious Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences.He became dean of the Heersink School of Medicine in 2013 and was a member of the UAB surgical faculty from 1994 to 2006.From a young age, I knew I wanted to practice medicine; but more than that, I wanted to make a difference in the lives of other people, Vickers said. Throughout my career, I have been passionate about clinical care, research and education. I have been the medical student, the trainee, the researcher, the physician, the teacher and the administrative leader. As we move forward into 2022 and the years beyond, UAB will continue to pursue high-quality patient care and the best possible patient outcomes, and continue to grow our nationally recognized programs to transform this part of the country into a healthier place to live and work. According to a press release from UAB, Vickers said the alignment of the Health System with the leadership of the School of Medicine is a proven successful strategy used at many academic medical centers.The structural change of our clinical enterprises leadership from two roles to one comes from the significant growth we have experienced in the past few years, he said. As many of our peer institutions have done, it made sense for UAB to consolidate the roles of CEO of the UAB Health System and dean of the Heersink School of Medicine to one person. A singular leader can fuse the interests of all groups at our enterprise and take a thoughtful approach to finances, operations and outcomes of both worlds.Vickers said he prioritizes continuing to build on and expand UABs programs of clinical excellence for the residents of Alabama, the Deep South and America while breaking the socioeconomic barriers to health care and education. A hallmark of his leadership will be focusing on UABs efforts to bring affordable health care to all people and regions of Alabama. UAB'S BIO ON DR. VICKERS"Vickers earned his undergraduate and medical degrees from Johns Hopkins University and completed a surgical residency there. He joined the faculty of UAB as an assistant professor in the Department of Surgery, where he was later appointed to professor, division director and the John H. Blue Chair of General Surgery. He was a founder of the UAB Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Center and was principal investigator of UABs first pancreatic cancer SPORE. "In 2006, Vickers left UAB to become the Jay Phillips Professor and chair of the Department of Surgery at the University of Minnesota Medical School, one of the oldest and most storied surgery departments in the country. "In 2013, Vickers became senior vice president of Medicine and dean of the UAB Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine, one of the largest public academic medical centers in the United States. In his role as dean, Vickers leads the medical schools main campus in Birmingham, as well as its regional campuses in Montgomery, Huntsville and Tuscaloosa. "He was inducted into the Alabama Academy of Honor for the class of 2021, which recognizes living Alabamians for their efforts and accomplishments in serving the state and country."

The UAB Health System has a new, but familiar, face at the helm!

On Wednesday, it was announced that Dr. Selwyn Vickers, senior vice president for Medicine, has been named the CEO of both the UAB Health System and the UAB/Ascension St. Vincents Alliance. He is replacing Dr. Will Ferniany, who is retiring after leading the Health System for about 13 years.

Vickers, a Demopolis native, will assume these positions while maintaining his current role as dean of the Heersink School of Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

The selection of Dr. Vickers as CEO of both the Health System and the Alliance will ensure a seamless transition of executive leadership and an uninterrupted commitment to excellence, said UAB President Ray Watts, M.D. We are proud to have this extraordinarily talented team of leaders, who will elevate our ability to provide the best patient care for our community, state, region and nation.

Vickers is a world-renowned surgeon, a pancreatic cancer researcher and a pioneer in health disparities research. He is also a member of the prestigious Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences.

He became dean of the Heersink School of Medicine in 2013 and was a member of the UAB surgical faculty from 1994 to 2006.

From a young age, I knew I wanted to practice medicine; but more than that, I wanted to make a difference in the lives of other people, Vickers said. Throughout my career, I have been passionate about clinical care, research and education. I have been the medical student, the trainee, the researcher, the physician, the teacher and the administrative leader. As we move forward into 2022 and the years beyond, UAB will continue to pursue high-quality patient care and the best possible patient outcomes, and continue to grow our nationally recognized programs to transform this part of the country into a healthier place to live and work.

According to a press release from UAB, Vickers said the alignment of the Health System with the leadership of the School of Medicine is a proven successful strategy used at many academic medical centers.

The structural change of our clinical enterprises leadership from two roles to one comes from the significant growth we have experienced in the past few years, he said. As many of our peer institutions have done, it made sense for UAB to consolidate the roles of CEO of the UAB Health System and dean of the Heersink School of Medicine to one person. A singular leader can fuse the interests of all groups at our enterprise and take a thoughtful approach to finances, operations and outcomes of both worlds.

Vickers said he prioritizes continuing to build on and expand UABs programs of clinical excellence for the residents of Alabama, the Deep South and America while breaking the socioeconomic barriers to health care and education. A hallmark of his leadership will be focusing on UABs efforts to bring affordable health care to all people and regions of Alabama.

"Vickers earned his undergraduate and medical degrees from Johns Hopkins University and completed a surgical residency there. He joined the faculty of UAB as an assistant professor in the Department of Surgery, where he was later appointed to professor, division director and the John H. Blue Chair of General Surgery. He was a founder of the UAB Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Center and was principal investigator of UABs first pancreatic cancer SPORE.

"In 2006, Vickers left UAB to become the Jay Phillips Professor and chair of the Department of Surgery at the University of Minnesota Medical School, one of the oldest and most storied surgery departments in the country.

"In 2013, Vickers became senior vice president of Medicine and dean of the UAB Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine, one of the largest public academic medical centers in the United States. In his role as dean, Vickers leads the medical schools main campus in Birmingham, as well as its regional campuses in Montgomery, Huntsville and Tuscaloosa.

"He was inducted into the Alabama Academy of Honor for the class of 2021, which recognizes living Alabamians for their efforts and accomplishments in serving the state and country."

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Dr. Selwyn Vickers to take over UAB Health System and UAB/Ascension St. Vincents Alliance - WVTM13 Birmingham