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Oshkosh pediatrician named Affinity chief medical officer

03 / 07 / 2007

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MENASHA, Wis. – Affinity Health System has named Dr. Mark W. Kehrberg, an Oshkosh pediatrician and vice president of Medical Affairs at Mercy Medical Center, to lead clinical quality efforts at Affinity’s three hospitals, 23 clinics and Network Health Plan. Kehrberg’s appointment as Affinity’s senior vice president and chief medical officer is effective March 5.  

During his tenure at Mercy, Kehrberg led physician and health care teams that garnered rankings to the Solucient Top 100 Hospital and Most Improved Hospitals 2004 lists. Mercy also received a three-year Accreditation with Commendation, the highest commendation by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer. This year, Mercy is ranked No. 1 in Wisconsin for overall orthopaedics, joint replacement and spine surgery by HealthGrades.  

“I’m thrilled that Dr. Kehrberg has accepted this position,” said Daniel E. Neufelder, Affinity president and chief executive officer. “I believe under Mark’s leadership we will be able to accomplish our goal of attaining clinical quality rankings in the top 10 percent of the United States.  He will join the Affinity Executive Team and will participate in key medical staff and board committees. Mark excels at helping teams focus on, and reach exceptionally tough quality goals. At Affinity, we believe that our focus on better care and patient satisfaction sets us apart.  Mark’s accomplishments during his 14 years with LaSalle Clinic and Affinity Health System have given us a powerful and inspiring example of leadership.”

“I’m honored to be given the chance to serve people from throughout our region,” Kehrberg said.  “We need more than medical science and quality checks to practice medicine well. We have to listen carefully to our patients and our colleagues so we do the right thing each and every time.  

“That’s not easy today when we’re all expected to multi-task, but that style of people-focused practice drew me to Affinity,” Kehrberg said. “Our third-party rankings and quality reviews tell me we’re reaching this goal. My job is making sure we continue providing heartfelt, mission-oriented health care that’s tightly bound to world class quality.”  

A graduate of the University of Wisconsin Medical School, Kehrberg completed is pediatrics residency at the University of Utah Affiliated Hospitals in Salt Lake City, and a master’s in Preventive Medicine and Administrative Medicine at UW Madison.   While with LaSalle Clinic during the early 1990s, he built a six-person child specialty medical practice in Oshkosh which had no pediatric specialists until that time. When LaSalle Clinic joined Affinity Health System, Kehrberg became a medical director and, eventually, vice president of Medical Affairs at Mercy Medical Center.

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For the Editor:
Affinity Health System, a Catholic mission-oriented regional health care network, is a partnership of Ministry Health Care and Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare. Affinity Health System is the Fox Valley’s third largest employer, according to the Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce & Industry, and is nationally listed among the top 50 hospitals for quality and efficiency (Thomson Reuters, Modern Healthcare). For eight consecutive years, Affinity Health System has been named to the SDI Health (formerly Verispan) Integrated Health Network Top 100, an annual assessment of the 100 most highly integrated health care networks in the nation – Affinity ranks no. 29 in the 2009 report. Both St. Elizabeth Hospital in Appleton and Mercy Medical Center in Oshkosh rank among the top 1 percent among hospitals nationwide in terms of quality and efficiency, as determined by the 2007 Premier | CareScience Select practice National Quality Award. Network Health Plan has achieved Excellent accreditation status from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), the highest possible level. It is ranked 31st in the nation, according to the U.S. News and World Report/NCQA Best Health Plans in America listing. Members of Affinity include Mercy Medical Center and Mercy Health Foundation, Oshkosh; St. Elizabeth Hospital and the St. Elizabeth Hospital Community Foundation, Appleton; Affinity Medical Group, a regional network of 22 family practice and specialty clinics – including two fully operational Medical Home models – in 14 communities; Calumet Medical Center, Chilton; Network Health Plan, Menasha; and Affinity Occupational Health.