On behalf of Dan E. Berkowitz, MB BCh:
ANNOUNCEMENT: JUHAN PAISTE, M.D., MBA, CPE, APPOINTED EXECUTIVE VICE CHAIR OF ANESTHESIOLOGY AND PERIOPERATIVE MEDICINE
It is with much enthusiasm that I formally announce that Dr. Juhan Paiste has been appointed to the newly created position of Executive Vice Chair for Operations and Integration in the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine.
In his new role, Dr. Paiste will partner with me to advance our Department to continued success, climbing the ranks of the top Anesthesiology departments in the country. He will oversee our clinical divisions; as such, the Department’s reporting structure will reflect that clinical Vice Chairs now report directly to him. Moreover, he will be directly responsible for overseeing anesthesia community clinical practices and negotiating and integrating further departmental clinical expansions.
Dr. Paiste joined UAB in 2014 as the Vice Chair and Director of Multispecialty Anesthesia. In that role, he provided remarkable leadership during a time of rapid expansion of OR services and organizational restructuring. He was responsible for leading many of the quality, safety, and efficiency initiatives while driving down costs. He collaborated with the UAB Health System to optimize perioperative services through standardization and by enhancing the efficiency of work flow processes. His data-driven approach positioned the Department as one of the most enviable with regard to safety and quality. Moreover, the IT system and real-time dashboards that he continued to oversee are a model of innovation in the field. His leadership on multiple OR executive committees drove a culture of collaboration and teamwork, which contributed to programmatic success in many surgical areas.
His Departmental success prompted the institution to appoint him to a role as the Associate Chief Medical Officer in Perioperative and Procedure areas. In this position the impact of his work was spread well beyond the Department. With former Chair Dr. Tony Jones’s promotion in 2017, Dr. Paiste was appointed the Interim Chair, and his positive impact continued. He recruited multiple faculty members, oversaw and negotiated favorable outside contracts, and led many perioperative initiatives. Moreover, he oversaw and helped lead a significant growth in NIH funding, as well as significant new teaching initiatives in the Department, particularly in the area of OR leadership and practice management.
Dr. Paiste received his medical education at the University of Tartu, Estonia. He immigrated to the United States, where he completed his anesthesia residency and fellowship in cardiac anesthesia and liver transplantation at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He received his MBA at the University of Pittsburgh, after which time he was appointed to the role of Vice Chair for operations at Lehigh Valley Health Network.
Dr. Paiste’s analytic mind, patient and thoughtful implementation strategy, and operational expertise will be critical as the Institution continues on a path of rapid growth in a health care environment whose complexity will continue to challenge academic medicine. I could not be happier and more confident than to have him as my right-hand man while we enter an exciting and challenging time at UAB Medicine.