OKC Medical Briefs July 9, 2003

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Jul 9, 2003 by Darren Currin

William H. Downham has been appointed chief medical officer of Heartland Health Plan of Oklahoma and A. Wayne Convention has been named chief operations officer.

Downham most recently served as senior vice president and chief medical officer for Mid America Health in Kansas City, and has held leadership positions at St. Luke's Health System in Kansas City, Aetna US HealthCare in Dallas, Harris Methodist Health System in Fort Worth, The Springer Clinic in Tulsa and Mercy Health Center in Oklahoma City.

Downham received his medical degree from the University of Oklahoma, completing an internal medicine residency and an infectious disease fellowship with the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. He later received a master of science degree in health administration from the University of Colorado.

Convention, who was chief executive officer of Kansas University Physicians, will supervise the day-to-day operations of Heartland Health Plan of Oklahoma. He is a 30-year veteran of the health care industry and has served as the chief operating officer of Tri-Source Healthcare Inc., a subsidiary of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City, and he served as the executive director of the Oklahoma City Clinic, a multi-specialty physician group.

"My job is to see that our members get the necessary medical care they need at the right time, at the right place and at the right cost," said Convention. He said he was attracted to the new position because of "the strong medical management model that Heartland Health Plan utilizes as its foundation for caring for members."

Owned by the University of Oklahoma and administrated by Schaller Anderson of Oklahoma, Heartland Health Plan of Oklahoma has 1,630 providers and more than 104,000 members.

Laird appointed to board

Gordon P. Laird, of Pawnee, was appointed by Gov. Brad Henry to the Oklahoma State Board of Osteopathic Examiners. Laird is replacing the expired term of E. Joseph Sutton II and will serve the board for a seven-year term ending in 2010.

Laird is the past president of the Oklahoma Osteopathic Association. He has also served as chair of the Bureau on Legislation and Bureau on Physician Grievance and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Oklahoma Foundation for Medical Quality.

Vargo receives award

Tammie J. Vargo, of Choctaw, has been awarded the 2003 ADHA Future Leader Award by the American Dental Hygienists' Association.

Vargo was recognized for her work in fund-raising efforts, membership growth and ongoing community leadership at the Oklahoma Dental Hygienists' Association.

The award honors dental hygienists who exhibit a strong commitment to the dental hygiene profession and demonstrate leadership in the association within five years of graduation from an accredited dental hygiene program.

Edmond Medical Center adds staff

Edmond Medical Center has expanded its cardiovascular care with the addition of five OU Physicians to its medical staff.

The physicians are all cardiovascular specialists in heart rhythms, interventional cardiology and vascular medicine. The new physicians are:

* Mohammad K.J. Ghani, an interventional cardiology specialist with board certification in cardiology and internal medicine, specializes in cardiac diagnostic procedures and pacemaker insertion.

* Thomas A. Hennebry is an interventional cardiology specialist board-certified in cardiology and internal medicine.

* Deborah J. Lockwood, a heart rhythm specialist, specializes in correcting irregular heart rhythms through medications, cardiac ablation treatment and implantation of defibrillators and permanent pacemakers.

* Suman W. Rathbun, a vascular medicine specialist, has a registered vascular technician certification and is board certified in internal medicine.

* Jorge Saucedo, board-certified in cardiology and internal medicine, specializes in treating patients with chest pain, blocked arteries in the heart and other blood vessel blockages in the body.

Physicians join OSU faculty

Cara Riley has joined the faculty of the Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine as an assistant professor of internal medicine. A 2000 graduate of the OSU College of Osteopathic Medicine and a 1996 magna cum laude graduate of the University of Arkansas, Riley completed an internal residency at Tulsa Regional Medical Center. In addition, she is a member of the American College of Osteopathic Internists and the American Osteopathic Association.

In addition to Riley, the university also added Charles Glendenning and Chuck Thurman as new assistant professors of family medicine.

Glendenning is a 1997 graduate of the OSU College of Osteopathic Medicine and has worked at Sparks Medical Foundation in family practice and urgent care in Pocola. He completed an internship at Tulsa Regional Medical Center and was chief resident of the Garfield County family practice residency program in Enid.

Thurman, a 2000 graduate, has completed a family medicine residency at OSU, where he was chief resident. He was also chief family practice intern at Tulsa Regional Medical Center and has worked as an emergency room physician at both Bristow and Wagoner medical centers.